What They Don't Know
by Lil Nezumi
Summary: Permanently "ON HOLD" - How much does anyone really know about Harry Potter? Things could have been very different if Hagrid... AU, what if type of story.
1. Tiny Prologue

**Title:** What They Don't Know?

**Pairings:** HP/? (but WILL BE SLASH, that's undisputable)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any part of the Harry Potter franchise, but I do play with the characters as any other fanfiction storywriters, who just can't help themselves.

**Author's Note:** When a plot bunny bites you in the arse, what is an author supposed to do? If you leave the little bugger alone, you'll find out real quick that it has grown over two feet tall, now has a nasty set of fangs, a pair horns and batwings, in order to fly over head. It will then dive bomb yah and launch nasty poop pellets at yah continuously until you begin to write about whatever…

**Author's Note II:** I know it's a very tiny prologue, but don't worry there's definitely more to this tale. Please be warned that updates for this one will be as slow as a snail going uphill in the middle of winter.

**Summary:** How much does anyone really know about Harry Potter? Things could have been very different if Hagrid saw more then just the Boy-Who-Lived and saw much more than just the little one he dropped off at No. 4 Privet Drive, on Dumbledore's orders. Here's a special "what if" kind of story for all of you…

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Prologue

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What if Hagrid truly was smarter than most people thought? What if that big man had other kinds of smarts and saw slightly more than everyone else when it came to looking at one small, underfed boy named Harry Potter?

Let's add another "what if"…to this tale. What if Hagrid, on his own time decided to take a peek into Harry's life at No. 4 Privet Drive before Harry's eleventh birthday and just for fun, what if he did a little something to improve the… _**Time**_… that Harry had to spend there.

What they don't know… is that because of that loveable, big man's actions, Harry Potter knows!

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**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimers:**_ See Prologue for details.

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

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Chapter One

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**"Happi Berfday Arry"**

It was an odd summer the year that Harry Potter turned seven. He was outside often doing his chores and when they were done, he had to make himself scarce. Luckily there was a play park nearby that many children didn't go to on hot days because that's when the community's '_free pool_' was open for them.

On this strange day, the day after Harry's seventh birthday, there was a very large bearded man sitting in the park with a huge drooling puppy. The man was leaning against one of the many trees and it looked like he was seeking someone.

Harry had noticed this man, but he also noticed that no other person, who happened to be in the Park at this moment for whatever reason, even noticed that the large man was there. He was curious, but he was also very cautious. Not quite knowing what to do he thought about it for a while. It was only after glancing at the big man once more, that he noticed that the large man was waving to him.

It wasn't like anyone had never waved to him before, but this was a beckoning kind of wave. The scrawny underfed boy decided to take a chance. He cautiously walked up to the man and stood at the edge of the blanket that the man was sitting on.

"Ello thare Arry," his voice rumbled, but sounded really kind.

"Hello," he replied somewhat shyly.

"Why n't ye 'av a sit down 'n eat wit' me?" Hagrid said pointing at the picnic basket that he brought with him. He paused a moment and then he said, "Blimey, I 'aven't seen ye was a babe."

"Do you know me?" Harry asked overwhelmed at the kindness and he curious to know where this strange man could possibly know him from. "I mean _**really**_ know me?"

"Well o' course I knows ye, 'Arry," the large man replied. "Don' rightly know o' anyone that don' know about 'Arry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived." Then the man looked sheepish and mumbled to the side, "Oops, I should'na said that. I should'na said that."

Harry just looked at the man with curiosity. He didn't think that he liked that title and asked, "What do you mean? The Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Well n' now that the Owl's flown, I guess I can tell ye, but don' ye be tellin' no one about this," he said. "I really ain't supposed ta be 'ere, but I figures that ye could use a bit a some'at to eat 'n I have somethin' else for ye later."

Harry sat down on the large blanket and listened as Hagrid explained about the Wizard World and how his parents were heroes fighting for the side of the Light Wizards. He also told him that the title of the '_Boy-Who-Lived_' was what was written in the Wizarding papers because he was the only one to have lived through a terrible time.

That's when Harry also found out about Voldemort, commonly known as '_You-Know-Who_'. Hagrid figured there was nothing wrong with the boy knowing what everyone else in the Wizarding World knew, especially since it seemed that Harry didn't even know that his mother was a Witch and his own father was a Wizard.

"Now a lot a Witches 'n Wizards may tell ye differin' things about yer Mum 'n Da, but don' ye pay 'em any mind now," Hagrid said. "I 'eard yer Aunt 'n Uncle in there the other day. Don' ye be payin' em any mind abou' tha'. They ain't exactly knowin' anythin' abou' 'em. They's just scared o' wha' they don' know abou'. Ye unnerstan'?"

Harry's eyes were filled with tears and he felt the truth from the big man sitting there. He sniffled a bit and brushed his nose against the shoulder of his shirt to wipe the snot and liquid that had accumulated throughout the news he had just received.

"Now," Hagrid said. "Ye eat yer fill. Let's just picnic 'ere a bit 'n ye can ask me anythin' ye like, but if'n I say I can't tell ye, please unnerstan' 'n don' push fer an answer, all right?"

"All right," Harry said. So he got comfortable on the blanket and they ate for a while.

Soon as they were finished eating, Hagrid did something that no one had ever done. He gave Harry a birthday cake of his own, baked just for him '_words and all_', plus a real present. They ate the cake together and when Harry was full, Hagrid ate the remainder, giving a bit to Fang.

Harry eagerly unwrapped his very first present. It was a trunk that had paneled pictures on the top of it. The panels were in two rows of three. There wasn't one in the middle of it. Apparently it was a special and magical trunk.

"It's called a '_Arca Doctrina_'," Hagrid said smiling gently at the boy's confused look. "A learnin' trunk."

The big man then explained how it worked. He also explained it will shrink to fit any space Harry puts it in, which is good because Harry knew just where to store it. There was a hole in the wall of the cupboard that his Aunt has yet to discover. The reason that she hasn't is because it's under the lowest shelf in the ' '_Cupboard Under the Stairs_' and therefore she refuses to stoop to examine anything closely in there.

The trunk has many properties. The most important are the panels, the handle and what's inside. Basically the idea of this special trunk to is provide the missing education for Harry. He's missed so much school and Hagrid had seen it. Other children on the school playgrounds, Harry's fat little cousin going to school, but no Harry was seen going to school.

Hagrid figured that if and when the Boy-Who-Lived managed to go school, he must be missing out on a lot. It was very rare that he ever saw that tiny dark haired little one venture from the house that the Headmaster had put him in, "_For his own good_" of course.

An Arca Doctrina was just what Harry needed as every panel on the _Arca _contained an image of what can be learned. First the panel of choice had to be moved to the centre position and then by pressing it, plus holding onto the handle of the trunk at the same time, a person would get sucked into the trunk. The handle acts like a temporary Portkey in conjunction with the pressed panel, but it's not as strong because a person isn't going from one place to another and this device cannot be detected by the Ministry of Magic.

So far the panels of Harry's trunk had the following images: a bookshelf, a chef's hat, the sign for medicine, a pair of fists, a math equation, a quill pen in a bottle of ink, and a mouth open as though in the middle of a speech.

The chef's hat is obvious, if Harry chooses that he can go in there and learn how to cook much better meals then he knows right now. The bonus is that whatever he cooks, he can eat and therefore there's the perfect chance to put a little meat on his small bones.

The sign for medicine, should he choose that one, will allow him to learn the basics of Muggle first aide, which he needs anyway, as he is always being hurt one way or another.

The pair of fists is the class for physical self-defense. There was teacher in the trunk for that one, but that teacher was uniquely special. It was a shadow ghost that would teach the techniques by showing the action that Harry was to follow.

The math equation is to learn the basics of Muggle math and some of the basic history of it, like when it was developed and which society used it the most.

The quill and ink one contained the basics for learning and improving his reading and writing skills.

The open mouth is to teach language. The languages are the basics or beginnings of French, Greek, Latin and one of the Asian languages.

Lastly, but definitely not least, the bookshelf will whisk the young wizard to a library type room filled with many books to read for fun and to learn from.

This kind of trunk has a specifically defined purpose. It was a learning trunk and therefore, as is the case when learning anything, it always will take _**time**_. It was same kind of _**time**_ that Harry was being forced to use to accommodate his muggle relatives. This device was specially made to take of that, kind of like a magical by-pass to regular time when this type of trunk is in use. For every regular hour, whether in the Muggle or Wizarding world, three hours would pass in the trunk.

Hagrid explained all of this to Harry when he gave him this gift. He told him, "The exercises, lessons 'n what not for the paper type learnin' parts will appear in front of ye when you sit down at the desk tha'll appear in the room yer whisked to. The physical trainin' one ye'll have a teacher. Just don' be a'feared of 'im cause he's a kind 'o ghost. Now ye can also go in there 'n nap from time to time, but ye must set the alarm by the door like yer learnin' _**time**_ or else."

"Or else... what?" Harry wanted to know.

"I don' rightly be knowin'," Hagrid admitted. "Stories be that a few folks never came out. Some that did were verra verra old and others died comin' out. The alarm is a large hourglass by the door. Ye go in, shut the door 'n flip it once. Tha's to register the time outside. Once the sands run out, ye need leave the _Arca_ completely 'afore ye go back in to learn something else for another hour. Ye canna' flip the hour-glass inside the trunk if ye've flipped it once, 'cause tha's where ye lose the time outside, mor' than hour for sure. Promise me ye won't be doin' tha'."

"I promise," Harry said. "So if I need maybe three more hours of sleep, this will let me get it?"

"Aye 'Arry," the large man said. "Choose the bookshelf 'n hold on ta the handle. Tha's the libary. In it there are couches, tables 'n chairs, plus tons o' books. Now I done a bit a wrong in tellin' ye' tha' magic is real 'n tha' ye be a wizard, this early in your life. Still none o' the lessons in this are in magics, but ye need the learnin'. I don' wan' ye to be left behind, if'n you get my meaning."

"Thank you Hagrid," Harry said. "If I pass these lessons…"

"Hush now 'Arry," the large man said. "I be watchin' out for ye. Can't rightly do tha' all the time, but I'll be here next year, day after your berfday. Ye bring dis wi' ye 'n I'll place more panels or be changin' them out. Only not for yer eleventh, you unnerstan'. Yer eleventh Berfday is important 'n I canna' be there. Ye'll be receivin' yer schoolin' letter then, the one fer the magic school 'o 'Ogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"But you'll be here on the day after my birthday, every year, even the day after, when I turn ten," Harry said. He knew that any letter addressed to him, by anyone, he would never be allowed to read. However, if he caught it early he'd be able to read it without his Aunt and Uncle knowing.

The big man nodded. "Now ye best be puttin' tha' in yer pocket and hidin' it quick. Just tell it where yer placin' it, picture it in yer mind where yer placin' it 'n it will shrink ta fit the image in yer mind."

"OK," Harry said. "I promise to use my time well and learn. One day, will you tell me more about my Mum and Dad?"

"Tha's a promise, 'Arry," Hagrid said. Just then the pup, a very young Fang, began to growl at a small grass snake that was slithering by. "Eh, now, stop that."

(…Interesting smells…) the small snake hissed.

(…You'll get sick if you eat any this…) Harry replied.

(…Too bad…) the snake hissed and moved on.

Hagrid looked at Harry and wondered if he'd become a bad Wizard, but he didn't think so because the little snake just moved on its merry way. He was slightly frowning and Harry wondered if he just lost a possible friend because he just showed a bit o' freakishness.

"She smelled the food and said it was interesting," Harry explained. "I told her she'd get sick if she ate any of it."

"Really," Hagrid said. " 'Ow long 'ave ye bin able ta…" He waved his hand in the direction of the snake.

"I don't know, forever I guess," the boy replied looking down. "They're usually the only ones that talk to me when I'm doing my outside chores. They're not bad, only little grass snakes, they have no poison. I tell 'em to go away if Aunt Petunia shows up otherwise she'd get Uncle Vernon to kill 'em all and they're not doing no harm."

"I see," Hagrid said. "When ye get to the Wizardin' World this is one other thin' tha' I be thinkin' tha' ye should be keepin' ta yerself if 'n ye can. Most wizard folks don' like anyone that can talk to snakes."

"Why?"

"Well now," he started wondering if he should tell Harry about some of it. Making up his mind he continued. "In the past, far past 'n very recent past, there be bad Wizards tha' be able ta speak ta snakes. Lots o' bad Wizards."

"Oh," the boy said. "I don't want to be bad."

"Yer not bad," Hagrid said immediately, without any thought on the matter. He then made another decision right then. "Ye continue on talkin' to 'em. Mayhap ye can learn some'fing from 'em. I jus' mean' ye ought to be careful 'Arry. I don' wan' ye to be hurt, if some'on decides to call ye somethin' bad 'cause ye can do somethin' they can't."

Harry nodded and then heard the chimes for the time ringing nearby. "I gotta go," he said.

"Right ye are 'Arry," Hagrid said. "Now ye be comin' 'ere next year 'n I'll be givin' ye some new panels or augmens' fer yer _Arca_."

"Thank you Hagrid," Harry said, as he started to walk away. First he looked at the trunk and pictured his pocket in his mind.

"Your going in my pocket," he told the trunk. It shrank to a portable size that would actually fit in the boy's pocket, but would not weigh down the pants that Harry was wearing.

"That was so cool," he said smiling up at Hagrid.

Hagrid smiled back and said, "See ye la'ter 'Arry."

Harry nodded and walked off of the picnic blanket, when he turned around to wave, he couldn't see the large man anymore. However that was all right because he knew that he would be able to see him in a year's time.

'_I'll believe him and I'll hold on to that hope,_' Harry thought, as he hurried to his relative's home. '_I can't wait to try this out_.'

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**Eight Years Old**

The following year was pretty much the same. Hagrid showed up at the Park and they had a private picnic to celebrate Harry's eighth birthday. Hagrid changed out all of the panels. For some he only had to add parts or additional augmented designs to them.

"These be made for traveling folks that have chil'ren with 'em," Hagrid explained. "Parents who want to have a reliable way to be teachin' their young'uns."

So, all the old panels were removed so that the large man could add pieces to them, like a rune here and a rune there or another picture to compliment it. The old panels actually opened up slots, so that Hagrid would know how many new images he needed to add. Each new image represented a level of learning that Harry had achieved.

For example: The bookshelf received added books to its image and a chair that had books stacked just beside it. The fists received the image of a knife flying in the air, plus one of a shadow-like figure doing stretches. The chief's one got added images of pots and pans, plus additional shakers for spices, etc… etc…

Hagrid was surprised, but proud that Harry was actually learning and taking the time to learn. "I'm proud a ye 'Arry," he said. "I know that yer Mum 'n Da 'ould be just as proud."

"Thank you Hagrid," Harry said, secretly glad that he was able to make the large man proud.

He was the only adult that Harry trusted, now. It's not to say that he trusted the large bearded man completely, after all he was still a virtual stranger, but he did like him. Hagrid actually cared that Harry was doing well and was giving him the means to help himself even more than before.

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**Nine Years Old**

For Harry's ninth year, Hagrid actually brought him to Diagon Alley for a treat. It was right after they had their picnic and after Hagrid added more stuff to the panels, including adding a couple of brand new ones that he had been able to find.

One even had the image of a pool for swimming and diving. There was another ghostly teacher for that one, but apparently this ghost could use protective magics to help prevent accidents or even the unlikely, but always very real possibility of drowning. No parent would want their child to learn this without some form of supervision, so of course there was a teacher / watcher set for this particular panel.

Hagrid took Harry to the Ally, hidden within the folds of an oversized cloak. They walked in the front of many of the stores, but he wanted to take Harry to Gringotts Bank first to see if Harry needed to know anything about how his finances are or how the money worked in the Wizarding World. He thought that there must be some way that Harry could get stuff from the Muggle World without having to make do and use Dudley's old belongings.

Goblins always took care of their clients and they even knew who to contact for certain things. However sometimes they knew and helped the clients around certain tricky legalities, when needed and for a modest fee, of course.

Unknown to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, a certain Phoenix for the Light had snitched a specific little key from the hidden cubby that the old man had placed it in and forgotten about. It was likely that he would eventually remember that he would need it in time, but for now he had completely forgotten it. When the time would come for Hagrid to deliver it, he would just assume that he had already given it to the big man prior to asking (ordering) him to see that Harry receive his letter for Hogwarts.

However, today Harry was meeting with a goblin that apparently has managerial rights over all of his accounts, as long as he has a magical guardian with him. This goblin was an interesting fellow because he seemed to know Hagrid by name.

This goblin's name was Crasgrasp, meaning '_Tomorrow's_' grasp. He was a slightly forward thinking goblin who seemed to _see_ just a bit more then his some of his banking brethren. He saw Hagrid and knew him for what he was. A man of Hagrid's character could be seen as simple and yet this man has vast amount of integrity mixed with quiet understanding of many, many things. Curiously, this one man was considered as much of a friend as the goblin society would allow and he has just now walked into Gringott's with a small child by his side.

They were guided to Crasgrasp's office and now this child was looking around at everything in Crasgrasp's office in wonder. He was quite obviously the reason that the large half-giant was there. The goblin looked at the shuffling man for a minute before muttering a spell in the goblin tongue known as Gobbledegook.

The spell was aimed at both chairs before his desk and with a few gestures of his hands their form was altered. One chair had changed to accommodate Hagrid's large size and the other changed to accommodate the child. He waited until they were seated comfortably before ensuring that the secrecy and privacy spells were in place.

"Wow," the child said in wonder. "When I get enough learning, will I be able to do some of that?" He asked looking between the two others in the room.

"O' course, ye can," Hagrid said quick to reassure him. He would never deny Harry's need to learn.

Another moment passed and no one said a word, until Crasgrasp said, "Hagrid, it has been a while since you've come to see me and you've never brought someone with you before. May I ask what is going on?"

"Yah," Hagrid agreed. "I's just wonnerin' if ye could tell my youn' fren' 'ere anythin' about his accounts. I don' rightly 'ave enough knowin' to be tellin' him what he be needin' to know."

"You'd need his key," Crasgrasp said and then he watched with amusement as Hagrid proceeded to pull random things from his large overcoat. There was a bit of string, some dog biscuits, a crumpled piece of parchment and other bits of odds and ends.

"Ah, 'ere we go," he said, when he finally pulled out the tiny key. It wasn't surprising that he had to look for it because it so small.

The goblin looked at it and then looked closer at the boy, but the young thing was still hidden in the oversized cloak. He looked at the key once more and then went to a file cabinet to retrieve some papers.

"Mr. Potter you honour me with your presence," Crasgrasp said.

He could tell that he had startled the boy, but then the child pulled down the hood proving that he was in fact Harry Potter, with the curse scar and all. He looked right at the goblin and then the boy's bright green eyes were looking from him to the key that Hagrid had placed on the desk and back to the large bearded man sitting next to him. Harry then looked around the room once more in slight wonder and stated, rather than asked.

"The key told you who I was," he said.

It was the goblin's turn to be slightly startled and his eyebrows shot up. Looking at his large friend, it seemed that Hagrid knew that his little human friend had a good head on his shoulders. Crasgrasp looked at the papers in his hands and then he went back to the filing cabinet to get another one.

'_Now let's see just what it is they want,_' he thought. He then said to them, "There's not much that I can tell you about Mr. Potter's accounts. The only thing that I know is that in order for Mr. Potter to access them, it must be done through his current '_live in_' guardian or with the permission of his magical guardian."

"Is there a difference between a '_live in_' guardian and a magical one?" Harry asked. He really wanted to know.

Crasgrasp nodded. "Your '_live in_' guardian is listed here as a Mrs. Petunia Dursley and currently you are residing with her, correct?" When he saw the boy's positive response, he continued. "She has access to your living account. That is an account specifically set up in order to be able to provide you with the necessities for living, like clothes and food and any other possible expenses, like probable medical needs, schooling, etc..."

He looked closer at the activities in the account and found that none of the money within it had been touched since Harry Potter was declared an orphan. He raised an eyebrow at that and then told them, "No activities have been registered against this account."

Hagrid nodded, "I didna' think tha' there 'ould a bin any. She bein' a muggle 'n all."

"Ah," Crasgrasp said. "Well that would explain it. She can't come here to access it and therefore wouldn't know about it." He paused, but then said, "However your magical guardian should have been the one to notify her about this and he's also the one that should have helped her set up some kind of access through our Muggle counterparts."

"I don't know who my magical guardian is," Harry told the goblin. "I was never told about any of this, until Hagrid decided to bring me here today."

"We have an Albus Dumbledore listed as your magical guardian," the goblin told the young nervous boy. "Do you mean to tell me that you have never met the man before? That he has never contacted you, at all?"

Harry answered by shaking his head, '_No_'.

"Is he important in the magical world?" The boy asked.

Hagrid coughed a bit and then said, "'Arry. Dumbledore is the 'eadmaster o' 'Ogwarts."

"Oh! The Wizarding School you work at?" He asked to confirm that information. Hagrid nodded and Harry continued, "But he _must_ be _too_ busy to take care of my money and stuff, if he never took the time to tell me about any of this."

Crasgrasp was again struck by the insight of the young boy. '_The kid is right,_' he thought. '_He doesn't know it, yet, but certain words spoken in a specific place, time and situation, especially when magic is involved, can invoke interesting changes. I think that this young man will do such thing. In the meantime, I will comply with his implied comment. Dumbledore really is too busy to look after Mr. Potter's finances, seeing as how he never even looked in on the boy._'

"Well said young man," Crasgrasp said. "I believe that you are correct in the matter. Now that _you_ have brought it up, I will tell you the kinds of options you currently have available in order to correct this situation. You may choose to have your guardian, Mrs. Dursley, come in and sign these things on your behalf."

Harry frowned at that. He didn't want his aunt any where near this wonderful magical world or _his_ money. '_She'd ruin everything about this world and try to find a way to take all my money,_' he thought.

He asked the goblin, "Isn't there some _other_ way around that?"

The goblin nodded and said, "Actually you can change your magical guardian to someone you know that has magic. It can not be any of the goblins, though. We tend to like money and some of us would not do right by you in the matter of handling it. Any other person you know that has magic can become your magical guardian."

Without thinking about it, Harry said, "I want Rubeus Hagrid to be my magical guardian."

"Bu' 'Arry," the large man said. "I don' know nothin' about finances or 'ow to show ye 'ow ta manage yer accounts 'n such."

"That doesn't matter," Crasgrasp said. "I would suggest that Mr. Potter here get an '_Arca Doctrina_', if he doesn't already have one. There's a panel set up just to learn about finances, estate management, and anything else regarding money matters, like investing."

"I 'aven't seen a panel like tha'," Hagrid said. Then he looked sheepish at having given away a secret.

"It's all right Hagrid," Harry told the large man. "I think that Mr. Crasgrasp has already suspected that I have one. Isn't that right, sir?"

Once again the goblin was surprised at the politeness coming from such a young one. "I admit that I was nearly convinced," he replied. "As for the panel, it can only be obtained here at Gringotts and only by a magical guardian. So unless young Mr. Potter changes his magical guardian, we would only be able to give him one upon the request from his _current_ magical guardian."

It was a lot to think about, but Harry's mind had always been quick to understand all of his possible options, especially with the long term look to his future in mind. Also he could make up his mind in a very short time frame once he had all the facts. As it stood, his current magical guardian was not looking out for him or his welfare, which was very obvious by the lack of contact. He didn't think that the old headmaster was a bad man, but the neglect was painful because it was like the man didn't care what was happening to Harry.

Hagrid cared about him enough to look into how he was being treated in the Muggle World. Hagrid actually cared enough to see that he receive a better education then the one his relatives were trying to beat into him by forcing him to underachieve in order to look worse then their own son. He even went so far as to acquire an '_Arca Doctrina_' for him, so that he could learn without worrying about what would happen if he did better than Dudley.

The grades that he was currently getting in his Muggle School would not reflect badly or botch his chances to go to a Magical School. Technically he was only biding his time until he could enter a magical school.

Harry also knew that in the Muggle World he could legally be emancipated at a younger age, if he had a guardian or was financially secure enough to provide for himself. He read that a couple of times in the Muggle Library of his town. That was a tricky thought because he didn't know if his Muggle status would or could be reflected in the Wizarding World. He didn't want to apply for a change in status in one World, only to still be known or considered a child in the other.

He looked at Hagrid and then at Crasgrasp. He considered his words and then he put forth his thoughts and question. "I know that any child cannot live by themselves, unless someone is there to take care of them. I don't really mind my aunt and uncle because now I have the _Learning Trunk_, which gives me the _**time**_ I need to learn things. In the Muggle World there is sometimes the chance to be emancipated at a younger age if all the legal documents are signed by your current '_live in_' guardian. If that were to eventually happen and I no long have my Aunt Petunia as guardian, would that be reflected here in this world?"

The goblin was absolutely pleased with that question and he answered in all honesty. "Mr. Potter," he began. "If you had that documentation, we would see that everything would be legal in the Wizarding World. We can not have a double standard. It is not something that the Muggleborns would ever put up with and they have fought to make so. To be a legal adult in the Wizarding World, one must either finish their education at the Ministry N.E.W.T.S Level or an equivalent amount training like an apprenticeship that has moved to the Journeyman Level or have reached the age of twenty-one. However, if a person has been living in the Muggle World for most of their lives and they have been declared legally an adult in that world, then legally we abide by that and they are immediately considered adult in the Wizarding World with all adult rights."

Harry nodded his thanks and then began to plot and think about his future. There were many things that he wanted to do and study. His _Learning Trunk_ was allowing him _**time**_ to improve and actually achieve the level of understanding that he felt he needed. Before he could change his mind, he said, "Since Mr. Albus Dumbledore is too busy in his other duties to have _ever_ seen to the needs of his magical ward, I believe that a change of magical guardian is needed to further my education properly."

Crasgrasp nodded and began to prepare the magical documentation, making sure that all the legalities were written and taken care of. It was only then that the goblin had explained everything to the two of them. He instructed them to sign it and seal it with a drop of their blood. It didn't take anything more than that. Everything was updated, neat as you please and with the changes being near instantaneous, everyone received the necessary copies for the own personal files.

Once again a certain Phoenix for the Light meddled a bit when he found these particular papers popping into the Headmaster's office. He took them from the top of the mail pile and stored them in the same place that the funny little key had been taken from. Because the old man didn't know that the key was no longer there, he never missed it nor did he notice the new and _legal_ documents absolving him from magical guardianship responsibilities. Because he had forgotten about that cabinet, it would take quite a long time before he knew anything had been changed.

Hagrid chose to leave his in the hands of the Potter Estates Manager for the time being. "Can't 'ave that in my 'ome," he said. "I might lose it or it might get destroyed by accident 'n I don' wan' tha' to 'appen."

"Can I keep mine in my '_Arca_'?" Harry asked. Once he received the go ahead, he took out his trunk and let Crasgrasp have a look at the panels. "Do you think that maybe now that you're my Magical Guardian, Hagrid that a couple of the books in the Arca's Library can be about the Wizarding World?"

He had been curious about it ever since he had learned that he was a Wizard and he found that he didn't want to be left behind with knowing about what happened around the time that his parents had died. He just felt like he needed to know.

Hagrid looked at the goblin manager and Crasgrasp looked at the two them. He knew that Hagrid wouldn't be that up to knowing just what the curious young boy needed, but that also had to be tempered with some caution. "I think that we'll add the finance panel and then we'll see what kind of books have been added to your library," the goblin said.

"Please," Harry agreed. "I don't want to offend you, Hagrid, but some of the books that were in the library last year, were the same as the ones I had already read in our town's library. My Aunt likes to chase me out of the house lots of the times, so I go there to read often."

"Tha's all right there, 'Arry," Hagrid said. He wasn't offended at all and he knew that he wasn't around to see everything that happened. He only knew about a few of the things, like Harry's lack of decent schooling. "I'm not offended. In fact, I'm glad ye're tellin' me about it. Tha' way we can hav' a look see at some of the stores 'ere in the Alley. 'Sides, now we set up yer libary to include Wizard stuff because bein' yer Magical Guardian means I 'ave a say in yer learnin' 'n I believe ye need to know more about our World. Like I tol' ye a'fore ye I don' want ye to feel lost when it comes to be learning anythin' ye needs to be knowin' about."

"Thank you Hagrid," Harry said. He looked towards the goblin and asked if there was a way to set up access to his living account for the Muggle World. "Maybe an official letter from a Muggle Bank can be sent to me at the Dursleys. It needs to let them know that I have to have my '_live in_' guardian's signature to retrieve the money from it. A weekly limit would need to be set up for it too or else they'd want all they can get. Could we set up something official with the Muggle World about my schooling without me having to go to school? I'd like to be able to stay at home and be '_Home Schooled_' without actually having to do anything, like actually submit tests and stuff. It won't really matter because I can take equivalency tests later on if I want Muggle Certification in something."

"Why don' we look into movin' ye outa there?" Hagrid asked. "I be agreein' about the 'Ome Schoolin' if 'n you can set that up for him, Crasgrasp?" The goblin jot down several notes to keep track of the things that were being discussed in his office.

"It would be nice to leave there, but where would I go?" Harry asked. "I don't have any other relatives to go to and I don't want to go to an orphanage. It really is better there now because of the '_Arca_'. It's not so hard to do what they ask. They don't really hurt me none and with this account maybe someone from Child Services can come and keep watch on them from time to time. Maybe see that some of it is being used for my care like it's supposed to, that way they can't complain that I'm taking away money from them for my care."

Hagrid looked at his young friend and asked, " 'Ave they ever hit ye 'Arry. Did they do anythin' else?"

"No," Harry told them, having a pretty good idea about what Hagrid was really asking. "No, they didn't. We learned about that stuff in school and I've read those books in the library. I know who to go to for that, if they did do anything like that. I can take better care of myself now that I know how to dodge and let whatever is aimed at me just graze me. I make it look like it hit me and that it hurt. They don't know any different."

"All right 'Arry," Hagrid said, putting up his hands to stop Harry from continuing. "I jus' don' like that they'd be takin' yer money 'n then be expectin' ye to not say nothin' about it."

"Well, the first time we go to the bank I will have to be able to take out a good amount," Harry said. "Plus I'll be needing to get my eyes checked. The school's nurses say I need to go to the optometrist because I've been getting headaches. Also everything is kinda fuzzy when they are far away."

"There are methods to correct that in the Wizarding World, Mr. Potter," Crasgrasp said. "However because you're still growing, it would not be good to fix them permanently right now until they've settled for at least a full year. However there are magical glasses that can be purchased and will adjust to your actual prescription, should that be needful."

"Wow," Harry said. "That would be so cool. Could we look for those today Hagrid? I'd want to be able to see better. I would want that more than most anything else, but we would still have to set up the Muggle appointments. My relatives would question me about where I got the glasses or the money to pay for them if I didn't do that."

"I think that you'll find that we can adjust your '_Arca_' to hold things in it like a regular multi-compartment Wizarding Trunk," Crasgrasp said. "Let's take care of the Wizarding money first. You'll need something secure for your key and you'll also need something to hold the money without it looking like you're carrying money."

It was then that he spotted the wrist bands that Harry was wearing. He had been wearing them for two years, ever since he began his physical training in the _Learning Trunk_. They were two pound wrist weights that looked like sweat bands. He had on four pound ankle weights too. His physical instructor indicated that once the new physical panel was added, more weights would be added to them in order to increase his strength.

However the goblin had never seen them before because there was no need for a Wizard to physically exert himself, unless he wanted to. Curious about them he asked what they were.

"What are those?" He asked pointing to the dark two inch bands around Harry's wrists. When the boy explained what they were and why he was wearing them, Crasgrasp had an idea about how the boy could carry his money. "I believe we have just the thing for you, Mr. Potter. Please wait a moment."

Crasgrasp left the room for a few moments and that was when Harry asked Hagrid about books and the things that he should be looking for in the Wizarding World to build up his understanding of things. Harry opened his _Arca_ and quickly went in to get a pen and paper in order to begin his list.

He wondered if Hagrid would allow him to get a pet snake. He always wanted a pet and then he figured the _Arca_ could hold him or her while Harry had to do his chores. There were things like terrariums that could be set up for it, so he asked the large man who was watching him write his shopping or wish list.

"Hagrid," he paused, but then figured that if he didn't ask he would never know. "Do you think that I could get a pet snake, you know for company?"

It was then that the goblin had just returned with another goblin beside him. "Such an unusual request, Mr. Potter," Crasgrasp said. "This is Risuslux (smiling light) and he is from our Tanner's & Leather Armor Guild. Could you please tell him about those and then maybe we can come up with something similar? I was thinking of something, perhaps with a view to your future schooling to include a wand holster with it."

Harry explained the wrist and ankle weights, removing them to show how the lead bars are added to them. "I started out with one pound weights in the wrists and two pound ones for the ankles," he said. "Last year one pound was added to the wrist weights and two more pounds were added to the ones in the ankles. I'm used to having something on my wrists and ankles, but sometimes I have to remove them because I can't get them wet or else they'll be ruined."

Risuslux looked at them and the brought out a couple of finished pieces of leather armor. "These are arm bracers and leg bracers," he said. "Please try them on and we'll how they would need to fit you in order for you to be comfortable with them and also allow you the room to grow with them."

Harry needed to put them on himself because no one would be there to help him out when he returned to his Aunt's house. He chose a set of dark brown ones that didn't cover his whole forearm. It wasn't needed at this time. He worked the straps and clasps using his hands and teeth. The goblins and Hagrid watched as he seemed to be familiar with how they were supposed to go on.

"'Arry," Hagrid began to ask, but stopped not sure how to voice his question. "'Ow do ye know 'ow ta… ta…?"

Harry smiled and said, "It was part of the training last year." He pointed to the trunk panel for the physical training and there in the corner of the panel an old rune that went unnoticed by Hagrid when he changed them out last year, but it was clearly there. "I pressed this panel and had my finger on this by accident, but when I got there the room was filled with different types of armor. It's where I found the wrist and ankle bands. I looked at the schedule for learning in there and saw that it was mostly a how to identify the armor and how to penetrate it in case of a battle or war. It was kind of fun."

He was telling them all of this while he was putting on the other bracer and they took note that it didn't take him much time to put them on. It was the new goblin that asked why it didn't take much time. Harry grinned and said, "I was tested on it. I had to improve and get faster at it or else I had to run laps around the room. It was kind of fun to see how fast I could do it without making a mistake. I didn't mind the running to much either because that helps with learning to control my breathing."

The goblins looked at one another just wondering who was this kid. There had been rumors and stories going around in the Wizarding World that the Boy-Who-Lived was spoiled rotten and was treated royally. They never thought that he wasn't. Here now it looked like the boy needed the _Arca_ and other things badly that Crasgrasp's friend Hagrid had to step in on the boy's behalf.

"Well," Risuslux began. "I believe that I can make these so that they can grow with you until the next time that you get your _Arca_ updated. You can add the weights here and here. If they get too tight, write me a note and indicate the number of inches wider and longer you need." He held up his hand to stop Harry from even pointing out that he had no way to send such a note. "Put the note between the two bracers and tie them up, inside out. That way they will come directly to me and I will be able to send you another, larger set. The same goes for the ankles ones."

"Thank you," Harry said.

"Oh, one other thing," Risuslux said. "Look here." He showed Harry the hidden fold in the bracer where Harry could put his Gringott's key.

There were two such folds per bracer, so he had an extra unused fold in the bracer now that one held his vault key. The other bracer was set up with two folds that could to hold up to ten galleons each or merge the two folds. It could hold an auto-fill, money pouch that will contain the max of twenty galleons, which was the bracer's maximum holding capacity without adding extra weight to the bracers. That would defeat the purpose of Harry's training to carry more then the necessary amount of weight.

"A word of caution, if you don't take out your key when you send these to me in order to replace them, you'll lose your key, until you come to the Bank in person to reclaim it," Risuslux told him.

"Is there a safety feature on the key, so that I could make sure that I don't lose it?" Harry asked. "It is kind of small and I wouldn't want to lose it at all."

"Truthfully, Harry," Crasgrasp said. "This key is only to be used for your schooling at a magical institute of learning. You can't take money out of that account until you accept to attend a Wizarding school."

"Oh," Harry said a bit disappointed.

"However," the goblin continued. "You can take some funds out of the account for your living expenses. I believe that an auto-fill money pouch would be the ideal thing for now. It's a pouch that will not hold more then twenty galleons in mixed change and we'll program it that way, so it can not interfere with your training. You can put the change away in it once you are done. If the money ever goes over the twenty galleons the extra money would be returned to the vault that the pouch is connected to. We can set that up for you now. Also, if you need Muggle money for whatever reason and you must be in the Muggle World fully, but if you are, then any money you need can be taken from that same account, but it will automatically convert to the Muggle currency that you need."

Harry agreed and soon they were almost ready to go into Diagon Alley for fun. There was one last bit of business to deal with. Actually it was just something that both goblins in the room wanted to know about, it wasn't any real business concern of theirs, but they were curious about what they had heard upon returning to Crasgrasp's office.

"Mr. Potter, we are curious to know why you would wish to have a snake as a companion?" Crasgrasp asked and Risuslux nodded his own curiosity.

"A moment," Hagrid said to them. He turned to Harry and looked at him. It was his choice to let Harry answer and give the permission, now that he was the boy's magical guardian. Snakes were dead useful in some potions and there were some magical snakes that the large man knew that Harry would like to have. Not only that, but they would be able to help him out, especially if one became his familiar.

"Now ye' remember wha' I tol' about this?" Hagrid asked, receiving a nod in return. "Ye' need to be sure tha' ye want to tell 'em an' if'n ye do I would suggest tha' ye ask for secrecy in this. They be trustworthy folk, if'n ye trust 'em right back."

Harry looked at the goblins and thought about the matter for a moment. First he needed to know something. "Who will be in charge of my accounts and estates while I'm learning about them?"

"Whomever you wish, Mr. Potter," Crasprasp said truthfully. "Learning about such things never stops and at the moment, I am in charge of the accounts and other financial matters regarding all the Potter Accounts, including the existing estates. I was placed in charge ever since your great-grandfather was a boy."

Harry's eyes widened. He didn't think that anybody could be that old. "Um," he mumbled. "I don't want to take your job away. I guess since you know everything about the accounts I don't think that we need to change anything. Please continue doing what you do and let me know if there's anything that I need to know or do with them, OK?"

Crasgrasp realized that he had just put the boy on the spot, because he knew that the boy wasn't ready to make such an informed decision. However the words spoken were again like an invocation and Harry had just sealed his job. The goblin tried to put the boy at ease.

"Mr. Potter," he said. "I was just informing you what is in place at this moment in time. You can not request a change of Managers until you're legally an adult in both worlds. I will continue doing everything in my power to assist you with your learning and with anything else you may need. You needn't fear that I will cheat you, no matter what you choose to tell me. You'll honour me with your trust, if you choose to give it, but have no fear of offending either of us, if you choose not to. This is after all your choice and there is no obligation, plus whatever it is obviously has no relation to our business transactions, we are quite well aware of that fact. We were just curious, that's all."

Harry was relieved to hear that, but he also recalled Hagrid's words. The only reason he was asking about who was in charge was that he didn't want to tell him something only to have the goblin move onto a better job. Little did he know that working with the accounts of a prestigious family, like the Potters, was the _better _job.

"If you both are willing to… to…," the boy now looked at Hagrid because he didn't know if there were traditional words for make such a request.

Hagrid continued for him, "If ye' both are willin' ta take an oath, tha' wha' ye learn 'ere today will not leave this room ever, meanin' ye canna' tell no one about this an' it canna' be written for any record, 'Arry is willin' to answer yer question."

The goblins blinked at the thought of a boy asking for an oath of secrecy from them for such a trivial matter such as to _why_ the boy is wanting to obtain a snake for a pet. Hagrid was smart to ask that they not talk about this to anyone and that this information never be written down. This way Harry's secret skill would remain secret until such a time that it was revealed to the public.

The goblins looked at one another and didn't think that what the boy had to say was that big a deal, but they were curious, so they swore their magical oath. They were waiting to see what the boy had to say and were they ever shocked.

"I can talk to snakes," Harry told them. "I can also understand what they say to me too. That's why I want one to be my companion. It can live in a terrarium and I wouldn't have to worry about taking it outside or anything because it can stay in my _Arca_ for now, until I go to a magical school."

Harry watched the goblins turned to one another to talk about what they had just found out. He asked a question that had been on his mind for a while. "Hagrid will I be able to continue learning with my _Arca_, when I go to the magical school?"

The large man thought about it for a moment and then said, "Honestly 'Arry, that 'ould be up to ye. Do ye still want to be learnin' in there when ye'd be learnin' in the school?"

The boy paused and then said honestly, "I think so. I'm used to the way the _Arca_ is teaching me. I might not be able to adjust to having actual teachers. I might mess up so bad that I know I might need the extra help from my _Arca_."

Hagrid sent a smile to the boy to hopefully put him at ease. " 'Arry, no one is goin' ta take that _Arca Doctrina_ away from ye. It belongs to ye now. If 'n ye feel that ye want to continue usin' it, plus go ta school then tha's fine. Just remember to do yer 'omework for yer real classes, all right?"

"All right," Harry said happily.

A cough from Crasgrasp distracted them from their conversation. "Mr. Potter," he started. "We know how difficult the decision was to inform us about your unusual skill. We are honoured with your trust. We will continue to assist you in the best manner possible." Risuslux nodded his agreement.

They were both pleased that the boy had shared this very important piece of information with them. They were also planning to hunt down any and all information that they could find about the Parseltongue language and it wasn't like they didn't know where to find books written in the language.

Harry and Hagrid didn't know it, but they just got a big helping hand for continuing Harry's education via the _Arca Doctrina_. So with the advice of the goblins, Harry and Hagrid went to the Alley to do some shopping for the items on Harry's list, plus any extras that looked good.

Hagrid did take Harry down Knockturn Alley and onto a smaller street called '_Novusfelis Path_' (new cat path). '_Novusfelis Path_' was a relatively young street that linked Knockturn Alley with '_Canisantiquus Lane_' (old dog lane), which is another street off of the main '_Diagon Alley_'.

Since '_Novusfelis Path_' was kind of new this was the place where questionable things could be purchased. These questionable things are _not,_ necessarily, Dark things which are the things can mostly be found down the infamous Knockturn Alley. There was nothing very Dark sold in _Novusfelis Lane_, but it contained more things like Grey type magic. Things that are neither Dark nor Light, but fit in between swinging like a pendulum from one to the other, but never into either of the extremes.

It was down this Lane that Harry was taken to several stores. Hagrid didn't like Dark things, but he knew about them and he had learned what was considered iffy Dark magics compared to completely Dark magics. He wanted Harry to be aware of these same things, so they bought books that explained why some things were classed the way they were and there was lots of history to back up that information.

They shopped in several other stores and there was one in particular that Hagrid showed to Harry. It was the store where Hagrid had purchased the _Arca Doctrina_ and where all the different kinds panels could be available for an _Arca Doctrina_. The reason he was able to get some of the panels was because they were not the wanted ones or the popular ones, so they were cheaper and vastly more affordable to the half-giant.

Harry did mind that at all when Hagrid told him about why he only got the ones he did. He only asked to be able go in the store to have a look at them. "There might be a couple that I can choose for myself now that I have access to the _living_ fund," he said. "Would that be all right?"

The large man just agreed to it. '_It would be better if 'n he can choose his own,_' Hagrid thought. '_Might be able to afford more. I think that he's hungry for knowledge._'

There were a couple that caught Harry's eye and there was one in particular, but that was kept under the glass counter. He asked Hagrid for the ones he wanted and he asked why that one was under the glass counter. It turns out that the one under the counter was rare and never could be sold unless someone could read the runes that made up the border of the panel. That's what the shop's owner said and he explained the circumstances around it.

That particular panel could not even be removed by the shop's owner, even to clean it. So if Harry wanted it, he would have to walk around to the other side of the counter and pick it up himself. The owner never wanted to know what any of the runes said. He knew that as soon as Harry opened the glass case and had successfully removed it, that the panel would now belong to the boy.

He was surprised, but let them know that the panel was specialized. "Don't you worry about paying for this one, eventually another will come to take its place," he said. "I don't know who makes these particular ones, but I'll tell you that you needn't worry. These are just tools to learn things. However I can't tell you exactly what you'd be learning with that one, but it's something that only _**you**_ can learn. That's how these particular ones work. If you ever come back you'll find that there will be another specializing panel inside the glass of counter, but that it wouldn't belong to you unless you pass that same condition and tests, exactly like the one you've just done. Now are you about done with the rest of your shopping?"

Hagrid was surprised, but he was glad that Harry was able to get the panels that he wanted. It was a good thing that the large man didn't mind that the boy wanted to keep the new ones that he had just added, but soon they had to go back to the Bank in order to see Crasgrasp and get Harry's _Arca_ set up with all the new panels, including the one for the finance learning.

Harry was taken back to the park and he when he saw the time he ran to his relatives' house with everything tucked securely into his pockets. His aunt wasn't pleased that she had to cook the evening meal for her family, so she locked Harry in his _Cupboard Under the Stairs_. She did let him out to use the loo and to drink some tap water.

He didn't care because he was able to have a full meal within the confines of his _Arca Doctrina_. He never used it during the day. He always waited until they were all upstairs in their bedrooms and sound asleep. He knew that they would never check up on him during the night because they locked him in his _Cupboard_ whether he was being punished or not.

He was a little disappointed that he couldn't find a snake that called out to him. Hagrid told him that he could get one if it felt like it was the one he wanted. He told him that it should feel like a friend. He couldn't get a better description then that.

"Ye jus' know 'Arry," he told him. "Maybe next year ye'll find the one for you."

He explained that when walking into any store that sold creatures, it was common to want to take them all home, but there would always be _**one**_ that stood out from the rest. It didn't always happen, but he told Harry that he shouldn't accept anything less.

As soon as Harry thought about it, he felt that he wasn't ready to have a companion, not now that he had a whole lot of extra learning panels to study in his _Arca_. He agreed to wait for a year, but did ask if they could visit more animal stores when the time came next year because they wouldn't really need to spend a lot of time at the Bank like they did today.

Hagrid agreed and Harry couldn't wait until his tenth birthday.

-----------------------

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** This story is a bunny that grew, as stated in the prologue. However this story will take some time to be completed and will _**not**_ have regular updates. In fact this story is to help prevent writer's blocks in my other two ongoing HP/DM stories. I do have many, many others on the go.

Also, the pairing is not yet known in this tale because I think that I may branch out into a different kind of slash pairing then I'm used to writing, so you've just been warned, but we'll see.

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Two

--

**Ten Years Old**

A few memorable events happened just after Harry's ninth birthday. For the first time in Harry's life he received a letter. It was a letter from a reputable British Bank. This letter stated that he had inherited a living from his mother and that he had to appear at the Bank with his current guardian in order to sign some documents.

His relatives were surprised at that, how they weren't too pleased after they had all arrived at the Bank. Apparently there was a Child Advocate Lawyer, from Rose Associates & Bar, present in order to see that Harry was well treated and to see that the money actually went to Harry for his needs. The Banking contracts were signed and the Lawyer promised to visit Harry in the near future to see that he had acceptable accommodations.

As a result of that day and meeting, Harry was moved from his old room being the _Cupboard Under the Stairs_ and into the smallest room in the house. They didn't want the Advocate or any do-gooder Child Service Worker to know that he has been basically living in a broom closet for at least eight years of his life.

He agreed to not lie nor tell the truth about it, but only if his relatives allowed him to continue living in that room once the lawyer and any others involved in his welfare stopped checking up on him. They agreed conditionally.

Their demands were that Harry was to continue his chores and take out the full weekly amount allowed. He was told give it fully to his Aunt, who was the only listed guardian and therefore only she could receive that all of that money. Harry said that he would give her only 80 percent of it, not _all_.

His uncle was furious about it, but Harry stated that if they wanted him to keep quiet about his past living conditions. His threat included telling about the tasks that they expected him to do for their home, where he was forced to sleep, the lack of medical attention, basic food and half-way decent clothing. He then told them that they should agree to it because he truly didn't have to take out any of the money at all.

"I've read the books in the Town Library regarding Child Labour and the Child Welfare Law," he told them. "You've not provided a good growing environment for me and I can have you investigated for everything that you have and _haven't_ done."

His uncle had sputtered and turned red, it was then that he had felt the twinge in his heart. Unknown to all in the house, the man was not taking care of himself either. He neglected his own doctor appointments in favor of other past-times. Those things, however will not affect this tale one way or another.

However the twinge made Vernon believe that Harry was the cause, so he readily agreed to allow for that nonsense. He was somewhat _concerned_ for his continued health because he believed his nephew was the cause, but without proof he wasn't prepared to not agree. So, he even agreed to allow the visits to the doctors and whatnot, but he didn't want to know about them.

Petunia was concerned, but then again 80 percent of 200 pounds weekly was still a lot of money. Truthfully, she wouldn't begrudge her sister's son the 40 pound weekly that he needed for anything. This way the boy could buy his own clothes and anything else he needed.

He could very well get out of the house and go elsewhere to eat too. The only matter that they ever needed to be concerned about was that he must continue to live there for their protection. That was part of the letter that that odious Wizarding man had left in the Boy's hands.

The smallest room in the house wasn't much of a sacrifice because she was tired of it containing her son's broken toys. It was unsightly and she never liked it the fact that her son was greedy, but she doted on him and indulged his every whim. He was her son after all.

The horse faced woman looked at the small boy who was thrust in their midst, disrupting their happy home and she had to admit that he was smarter, but never wanted to know about it. She didn't like any comparison between that _Freak_ and her son. So, when the Child Advocate asked about the boy's schooling, he was surprised by the answer. Then that meddling person suggested that the boy be Home Schooled.

She wasn't happy until it was clear that the man was Advocating a self-study program, to which everything was the boy's responsibility. Harry would be responsible for the work, mailing it to his tester and also he'd be responsible for his own tests. She wouldn't have to do anything other than allow him the time to learn.

Harry's relatives agreed to everything, including the visit to the optometrist and a medical professional for a check up. They didn't like the fact that Harry needed glasses, but the boy paid for them from his account because that's what the account was basically for. He was able to take out one huge lump sum of one thousand pounds. His glasses were paid with that, but the rest of it his Aunt confiscated. She gave part of it to her husband and some of it to her son.

Once they had all returned to the house, Harry was promptly shoved into the smallest room of the house and told that it was his to do with as he pleased, as long as he did all the work himself. They told him that since he had the money, he could very well see to it himself. They reminded him that he still needed to do chores and such, despite the Home Schooling thing.

All he asked was that they let him be to learn what he needed to learn during the day. "You may be Home Schooled, boy," his aunt said. "I don't want to see or hear you at any point in time during the day. My days are my own and I will not be responsible for you when you do your lessons. Don't even bother to come down to eat. You'll pack a lunch for yourself as well as my Diddums and then you disappear into your room for the day. Understand?"

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry said.

"You'll come down to prepare my Diddum's afternoon after school snack and then take yourself off to go get whatever you need to eat. You will only get the basic for breakfast and your pack lunches from us, but you'll buy any other food for yourself and find a way keep it your room. Understand?" Breakfasts of toast and lunches of poorly made sandwiches had been his fair for a while, but now she was allowing him to eat the same as her son. Only for the times of those meals. He was grateful, but he still knew that his portions would be greatly less then that of the fat boy.

"Yes Aunt Petunia." He had his _Arca_. He was sure that something magical could be done to help his situation, it was just a matter of finding out how and perhaps who to ask. Plus, that was his answer to nearly every condition. '_Yes, Aunt Petunia._'

He wasn't to have a burner, hot plate or anything like that in his room. However, since he was permitted to do whatever he wanted in the room, he plotted for certain things. So far it was OK to say, '_Yes, Aunt Petunia_. They were letting him have space and they were going to allow certain things, as long as he was never seen.

He knew how to use the space available to him. He was going to get what ever he needed from the Wizarding World or the Muggle World, any of the things that he needed, even if he had to make them himself.

--

Over the time of one year that small room was transformed into one massive space-saving secure learning room. He had a large corner wardrobe, plus and additional normal one next to it, close to the door of his little room.

He had found and purchased a half bunk bed, which allowed for the bottom bunk part of it to be replaced with a desk and complex shelving unit. The shelving unit used all of the available space under the bunk. It was a Wizarding one that Harry had asked for when he had to return his bracers for a larger pair.

The shelving unit even had two specials doors, one that was specifically charmed with a cooling unit inside, with one ever-full jug of fresh milk. It was something that Harry needed in order to strengthen his bones in order to grow properly. There was also an ever-full bowl of seasonally fresh fruits, from around the world, behind the other door, located beside the door of the cooling unit. It was made to hold pantry like items and it even had an internal bread box that Harry could use and keep his breads fresh as the day he bought them. It was set up so that Harry could purchase some things in the Muggle World in order to full-fill his relative's stipulation that he was to "_get his own stuff_".

He had taken the opportunity to add a letter to Crasgrasp, providing the dimensions of the space available and what he was looking for when he sent the old bracers to Risuslux. He had also asked if there was anything like the milk jug and fruit bowl in the Wizarding World that could be added to the unit in order that Harry receive fresh foods. These measures were just in case he was locked in and possibly forgotten for a day or so, which has happened, several times in the past and for days on end.

After reading the boy's explanation, Crasgrasp had no trouble finding these things and the goblin was pleased to know that Harry's learning environment had improved. Since this was something to improve his living environment, he felt that there was nothing wrong in providing the boy with everything in his very simple request.

Harry had a smaller second desk in his room for his brand new hobby, which was making Muggle Jewelry. The hobby was simple. Melting the semi-precious metals with a hand held torch and forming them was fun. Plus putting it together to look like his drawings and plans was very rewarding. He was able to sell the small pieces during the day, when he didn't feel like learning anything.

It didn't take long for the goblins to realize that Harry was making money in the Muggle World because he kept depositing more muggle money than what he took out weekly. Harry's pieces were simple and yet they called out to some people who wanted to know where he got them.

Part of his magic was being used in them to make them look attractive, but there was something else. A bit of emotion entered every piece and so it was like every piece exuded a feeling. These feelings were of innocence, happy or sad, and that was what most of the Muggles were looking for. Harry knew that this was happening, but he learned to program how much and what feeling went into them and he learned how to get them to fade over time.

Soon he was getting a few commissions, but he was cautious about this. He made sure that contracts were signed first. The Child Advocate Lawyer from before was helpful in this matter. The Lawyer was very happy to see that the scrawny boy was looking much better and was dressed in better clothing. The clothing wasn't new, but it was a better fit for the boy.

The smallest room of the Dursleys' home had two other features that were questionable in the Muggle World. Harry had replaced the window of his bedroom with a special one from the Wizarding World. This was done, magically, in the middle of the night on a Sunday, when the Muggle World was sleeping.

It was like the two way glass that Muggles had, but in this particular case it was to fool the Muggles. Should anyone ever be interested in looking into that particular room, then they would see a normal boy's bedroom with scattered toys, messy desk and messy bed. It didn't show Harry working at his hobby desk and it never showed him disappearing into a magical trunk for his _other_ studies.

It also never showed the one wall in front of the hobby desk. It was Harry's special wall. It was a working of very special magics and very rare magics. He was able to create large murals that worked in the same manner as portrait magics however it was the kind that Wizards could step into. This was very rare magic indeed because this was considered a lost art.

Harry could paint a black and white mural that pictured any event in time, which he could go visit it. It wasn't time travel. It was more of a tapping into the past and seeing it play out like a muggle silent movie. There was no colour or voices or music or anything of that nature, they were all like silent films of the early nineteen-twenties.

Learning this magic came from his '_special_' panel. It was a panel that showed how to create things with art. He was learning to use his magic for this. It's how he began his hobby. He started out with drawings and images, moving onto painting and then seeing what else could be created.

It had to all be manual, until he was permitted to learn the spell words. He had to train his hands and mind first in order to program the needed information into before he could use the magic. The instructor in this was very clear and articulate about this.

Harry didn't mind. He painted a different mural every month in order to improve his study of Magical History. It often reflected the timeline he was studying. His murals were only tools to future his studies and understanding. In one corner he began with a street name and possibly another cross section further down, he needed to add a date in time, a country and town name.

In that space within the borders of streets, plus the date, his hands would paint the vague outlines of a section of some town. His specialty magic would fill the rest with a few choice words. Once the mural magics were fully finished in the creation of a section of that town, he was free to explore anything. He could change the date and street names, in order to further see other sections of a specific town.

He could read anything that was written, see the actions take place. However because no sound was heard he had taken up the difficult task of learning to lip read. He first learned the English language and then some the other languages that he had learnt, in the _Arca_. Not all languages were easy to lip read, but did manage to find out about some interesting things.

It was one clever way to gain the knowledge of the kinds of books, different culture information, and any works he was interested in getting for his studies or even just to have in his personal library panel. He kept notes on all of this and was hoping that he could find these the next time he went to Diagon Alley with Hagrid.

The mural was invisible to his relatives and his aunt never once stepped foot in the room to check in on the changes that he had made to it. Harry made sure to have locks on the inside, while his relatives made sure that there were locks on the outside of his door. It was explained to the Child Service worker that one time that she visited that the boy was a sleep walker. It was a method to protect him.

Harry didn't mind that lie, as long as the Dursleys didn't know that when they locked him in, he was locking them out. That's what happened every school day since he was considered be a Home Schooled student. His relatives even went so far as to spread the rumor in their neighborhood that he needed '_special assistance_' because he was a little '_touched in the head_' and that the school for special needs was too full to accept him at the moment.

He didn't care. He was learning a lot more, now that he had a lot of _**time**_ to do so. He was even learning about his past and how the Wizarding World truly was. He understood some things and knowing what he did about Muggle celebrities, he was afraid that it was going to be even more difficult to be a Wizarding one.

"How could I not be one, with a bloody stupid title like the _Boy-Who-Lived_," he sighed, mumbling his annoyance. "It's in nearly every recent Wizarding Real World events-type book. It's disgusting. What about the other families that fought?"

However this was something that he knew time will take care of. So he put it out of his mind and continued to learn everything that he could with his _Arca Doctrina_.

--

Harry was now looking forward to his tenth birthday. This was the day that Hagrid promised him that they could look for a snake companion. He had read about snakes a lot. He knew different names and species. He knew what was special about them and he also knew about some magical ones that were known to be good familiars.

A snake would be the perfect companion because with _Arca Doctrina_ and the added space he could easily add a terrarium. He was able to study hard and he learned everything from the panels that Hagrid had purchased for him, plus the finance one and all of the ones that he had purchased himself.

He was looking forward to getting improvements for most of them and he hoped that he could convince Hagrid to help him look for a wand. He knew from the book _Hogwarts: A History_, that every student needed one wand to attend school. Looking about and through the history he drew, he could see that the Wizards were not limited to only using one because as their power grew they needed to change their wands or get another to compliment a differing type of magic that they knew to use.

He needed one to compliment the Art Magics that he had been learning about and needed a special one to improve it. His instructor was very clear in the matter and had even suggested that he go visit the specialist wand-maker on _Canisantiquus Lane._

Apparently the wand-maker there was one that helped provide wands for the special magics that were learned in these specialized panels. Plus she was the only one that knew where to look for new augments to these specialized panels once the wand was made.

Soon it was the day after his tenth birthday and he was let out of the house because it was summer time. He did have an agreement that with his relatives that he would leave the house on July 31, as long as they expected nothing from him for the day. It was technically his one true holiday out of the entire year.

He did chores every day and made the meals like they wanted him too, but that was all. They left him alone the rest of the time and they really didn't care about his education. After their time at the Bank, they considered everything else out of their hands.

Harry left the house early that day to go to the Park to meet up with Hagrid. The large man had promised him that they would go to the Alley and stay in the Wizarding World for most of the day. He just hoped that nothing would delay Hagrid.

Nothing did. Hagrid was there and was waiting for him. Harry ran up to the large man to hug him. "Hagrid," he said. "Boy! Am I glad that you're here! Can we go now? Please?"

"O 'course, Arry," Hagrid said. "I been asked to bring ye to the Bank first, if'n tha's all right by ye?"

"It's all right," Harry said. "I don't mind. I'd like to see Crasgrasp and Risuslux again. Anyway I know that we can talk to them and I'll be able to talk about the list of stuff that I want to look for with you in their office because it is private and secure in there, yah?"

"Yeh, it is," the large man agreed. "Ready, steady…" and they popped to a Muggle alley just a block away from '_The Leaky Cauldron_'. Hagrid showed Harry how to get to Diagon Alley this same way last year and this year he still had to be hidden in that same large oversized cloak. "'Ouldn't do for ye to be seen too soon."

Harry tucked the cloak around him, nodded his head and followed the larger man. Soon they were in the goblin's private office once more and once more they were seated in the chairs that were altered just for them.

"Mr. Potter, you honour us with your presence," Crasgrasp said.

"I'm honoured to be here," Harry said with all politeness.

The goblin chuckled, liking the youth and he said, "Don't ever lose that which makes you, you. Now what can I do for you today?"

Harry frowned, looked at Hagrid and asked, "I thought they wanted to see me?"

"We do, but we must always ask if we can do anything for you first," the goblin manager said. "It is better to bring up our business only after you've concluded your own. Common courtesy and politeness dictates that we do. Many wizards prefer it that way, especially those with _societal privilege_."

Harry looked at his magical guardian, who was nodding to everything that the goblin was saying. "Oh," he said. He figured that there are some books in the Alley that he could pick up to explain that particular comment, so he just said to them. "Sorry, if I was rude about that then. Um… I'm not quite sure that I have anything to bring up just yet, but I would like the use of your office after we're done because it is private and secure. Um… that is, if you don't mind, sir?"

Crasgrasp just smiled in the goblin way and stated, "I don't mind. I would like to be present though, if you don't mind? It could be a matter of importance for me to know about some of things that are talked of, in case I can help you out."

The ten-year old looked at him and Hagrid nodded, saying, "Ye trusted 'em 'afore 'n they never talked about wha' was said then. No one even know'd that ye came to the Alley last year."

Harry grinned and said, "I'm glad. It's all right for you to be present Mr. Crasgrasp. I would like to have Risuslux here too, if it's not too much trouble. When he sent the larger set of bracers to me, he indicated that he needed to see me in order to get a proper measurement and to see if his newer stuff would be better for me."

"I will call him in after our transactions are complete for the day," Crasgrasp said. "Now is there anything specific that you would like to know."

Harry pulled out his _Arca_ and showed him all of the missing spots in all of the panels, including the one in the finance panel. "It looks like I'll need to get a more things added to this one and I was wondering if you can tell me about the wand-maker on _Canisantiquus Lane_," he asked.

His question surprised both the adults in the room. Harry only pointed out that his special panel was for the learning of special magics. In order for his learning to continue and improve in that specific area, he needed a wand that was specifically made for that purpose.

"I was told that some witches and wizards have more than one wand, if they needed them," he said. "I was also told that over time the compatibility in their primary learning wand may change. The one I need today is not going to be the same kind of wand, as the one I'll need for the magical school next year."

Risuslux had entered the room during this explanation and since he was older than Crasgrasp he was able to confirm this information. "Mr. Potter is telling the truth," he said. "I know about those kinds of panels and I know that some magics were hidden away in them because not many Humans wanted to know about different magics like these ones, which available way back in the past. Some people were afraid of what they didn't know or they just couldn't use that kind of magic at all."

"Ye learn some'fin new every day," Hagrid said, looking at Harry with a touch of wonder. Harry agreed and the others just nodded their heads in agreement too.

Risuslux looked towards his colleague and Crasgrasp nodded, letting his elder take care of the things he needed to first. "Mr. Potter," he said getting the boy's attention. "I would like to see the ankle bands and the arm ones too. I have some that are vastly different and in light of the new information, you're going to need bracers that can hold more than one wand. Perhaps a set that can hold a money pouch that will allow you to take out more money." He raised an eyebrow at the boy because he was very much aware of how much more money was being deposited.

Harry blushed. "I knew I was sending too much through, but I didn't want to deposit anything in the Muggle Bank because my Aunt has my banking book. She'd know that there was more money and she would see that there were lots of deposits in it."

"Tha's right smart 'o ye 'Arry," Hagrid said.

"He is correct," Crasgrasp said. "You did the right thing. However let's let Risuslux finish here first before going onto that particular matter."

Harry nodded and then listened to the leather working goblin about the new bracers that he was planning to provide him. "These ones will not have straps," Risuslux said. "They will work like you original workout things, but these will snap closed and will grow with you for the next two years. You don't have to worry about water damage, so you never have to remove them. There are special magics that will allow you to wash your arms without concern of letting bacteria form between the bands and your skin. We even a special solution to clean the bands which will not affect anything that they come into contact with. These are made with more slots for the weights that you use to increase your personal strength, but I am hoping that you are being careful when you do?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said. "I try to keep that down and learn more movement. I don't want torn muscles or anything like that and I know that whenever I'm going hit my puberty… Well the growing of them will be awkward. However with what I'm learning it's more gymnastic stuff then the lifting of weights and things. These also help with my balance."

They were curious about it, but they didn't ask for a demonstration. They knew that the boy needed to learn certain things and these things needed to be done while his body was young enough to do it.

Risuslux continued, "Now with your current need for a wand it might best if you look at these." He pulled out for of the most oddly coloured bracers that Harry had ever seen. "Also, for the leg bracers there are extra slots for you to slip in a couple of throwing knives without having to worry about an extra sheath rubbing against your calf or extra padding to make it look bulky."

Harry didn't want to offend the goblin by telling him that he thought that the bracers for the arms and legs were extremely ugly, so he put them on like he was supposed to, without saying a word. Once they were snapped on, that's when something strange happened. They changed colour to match his skin. They were camoflage bracers. Not quite invisible, but they were barely noticeable.

"Wow," he said grinning. "That is so cool."

"Thank you," Risuslux said. "Now allow me to point out the features." They were similar, but in this case Harry could basically carry up to four wands, two large money pouches that could hold upwards to about 100 galleons each or anything of equivalent mixed change in his arm bracers. The leg ones could hold up to ten bars of lead weights, plus up to four throwing knives each. The knives that he was currently learning to use were just flat double-sided blades and point, with leather wrapping at one end of them to show where you're supposed to grip it.

There was enough room for all the bars of weight that he was carrying and at this moment it was only four pounds per arm and six per leg. He was doing enough different exercises that the weights were still very much noticeable. It's when the weights are no longer noticed that another lead bar may be added over time. His body was not ready for that just yet.

In the meantime, Crasgrasp was pulling out all of the extra settings or augments for the finance panel. He even forced a couple of extra ones using goblin magics to include Harry's personal finance and estate information in order for him to learn about his own things.

'_It wouldn't do to keep this information from the boy_,' Crasgrasp thought. '_If I can have at least one informed Potter in that family, I will do my best to see that he knows what his possessions all are. Besides next year the boy will be receiving his Hogwarts letter. Maybe I should advise him to get an owl now that way, if has any instructions for his estates we can keep a listing of them._'

After all of the explanations on the newer bracers were given and Crasgrasp had finished adding the things that Harry needed to learn in the finance panel, Harry pulled out his shopping list or wish list.

The list contained the store name that sold the panels for his _Arca_ because he wanted to get more augments for specific ones. He planned his learning around the things that interested him and he didn't need anything new for the cooking one, unless he found recipes that were different from the ones in the panel. He was mostly finished the first aid panel and he only needed to go in that one from time to time for a refresher of the things that he had learned.

He loved the languages one, now that he could actually look for books in those languages. Some of his book list was given to the goblins because they had access to those countries. "These books I know I won't find in Diagon Alley," Harry said. "I was wondering if maybe you know of someone that could find them for me. I would prefer originals in their original language because sometimes the translations are a bit off, depending on who translated them and when. If originals are too difficult, then any translated ones from the time period of about one to two hundred after the original publishing date would be acceptable. I've added the approximate production date to help in those cases. Anything translated two hundred or more years after the originals may have different cultural twists and will alter the original works."

"We have contacts in certain places," Crasgrasp said. "However you'll be paying a finders fee plus the price of the books that you are asking for."

"I kind of figured that," Harry said. "I placed them in order of preference, but I don't want to over pay any of them, so could you perhaps monitor these particular transactions. I only want to use the extra money that I have been depositing any way for these."

The goblin agreed. "It would be for the best," he said. "Perhaps you'd like to open a separate vault for your personal income that way you may be able to deposit and access it freely." Harry was surprised at that, but it was explained to him that the money that he was putting into his '_living_' account was obviously earned income and earned by him. He didn't need that to be controlled under his current estates because it didn't fall under any of the provisions that his family had made.

"Please," Harry said. "I think that will be perfect."

"We do have a few books that could be added to your library panel, but I think that it would be best for you to get another compartment for your _Arca_ and have that one be full personal library from now on. You no longer need a library panel," Crasgrasp suggested. "It would free up that particular panel space and the panel itself could be converted into the lock for the new compartment. Also, I would recommend that you merge the language panel, plus the writing panel into the library compartment. The store has a method to merge panels in order to create space and to maximize the use of the _Arca_."

Hagrid had a thought and then he said, "Mayhap we should set up yer trunk for yer Magical Schoolin' now, tha' way all you need to do is fill it up when yer letter comes next year."

"I like that idea," Harry said. "How many extra compartments can I safely add to my _Arca_ before it's too much? I don't want it being overloaded."

"This _Arca_ looks like an older model, therefore it might be sturdier then the newer ones available," Risuslux noted. "I agree that once you've learned all you can from your written works they should be stored in the library compartment too. That way panel space is freed up so you can get any others that catch your interest. So in all I believe that you can have a maximum of four different compartments of various sizes to match your current and future needs."

"You'll need a library one and any panels that you've completed can be linked to the library in such a way that you'll still be able to access the works," Crasgrasp said. "Then one of the four will clearly be part of the _Arca_ _Doctrina's Magics_, so two additional compartments should be added to have a total of four. The two new ones would be smaller, but then it could appear just like a regular school trunk with an extra compartment for you school things or else you could purchase another trunk, I suggest a multi-compartment and auto-shrinking one for school. That way it could be stored in your _Arca_ and you could have the extra compartments in your learning to hold whatever pleases you."

Thinking about it, it made sense to Harry so he looked to his magical guardian and asked, "I'd like to set that up, one extra trunk for school, just like the one Mr. Crasgrasp suggested and that way if I have to separate them in the school I can. Is that all right? Can I please do that, Hagrid?"

"O 'course ye can, Harry," the large man said. "Anythin' ye need ta be makin' it easier on ye, is perfectly fine by me."

"You'll have get this done at the store on _Novusfelis Path_," Risuslux said. "They know how to convert the library panel into a full library compartment. That's what's usually done when the child or student's learning and reading exceeds the current capacity of that particular panel. They also know how to merge panels, for example your cooking panel could be merged with a Potions Lab, if that is your wish. Now then I have a gift for you."

"What?" Harry asked. "Why would you get me a gift?"

"We were honoured that you allowed us to know about your special speaking ability and we have decided to look for a companion for you," Crasgrasp said. "We even found several written works in order for you to improve your knowledge and understanding of it too. We have a feeling that you need to know as much as you can about it."

Harry blushed because he never thought to receive another gift in his life. These were goblins and he didn't know much about their customs. Not wishing to offend them, he reluctantly accepted their gift, hoping that he knew what he was doing.

"If it's any consolation, Mr. Potter," Crasgrasp said. "Your magical guardian has been made aware of it and has agreed to let us present it to you. We looked for this particular companion based on his suggestion."

The boy didn't know what to say to them except maybe a choked out, "Thank you! Thank you, very much."

The two goblins presented Harry with a small vented crate and another box. The box contained the books that could be added to his library. Harry was more curious about the crate, so opened the small crate slowly, noticing that there were several hissing sounds from within.

(…Hello…) he said peaking into the crate.

There curled up in a corner was a smallish snake, about a foot long, that had three heads of different colours, the middle one was pure black, the one on the left was dark golden yellow, and the right one was a deep, dark red. The colours extended down the body, blending together where they met and forming coloured bands in rings all the way down to the end with a black tail tip.

It was a magical snake known as a Runespoor, but this one was even more exotic because it was a Coral Runespoor. It was one of the most magical, poisonous and rare of all the varieties of Runespoors out there. If this is a female then it could bring forth one egg of the same colour as the head that produces it.

The venom in each head had different properties too, but such a snake or companion was a Potion Master's dream. This was only on the condition that the snake was a _Familiar_ and that the creature allowed such a harvesting. The eggs produced would never create offspring unless there was a male present to fertilize the female prior to the regurgitation of the eggs.

The three headed snake looked at the one who spoke and all were surprised that he could talk to them. (…Hello, Master…) they said at the same time. (…You're a speaker…)

(…Yes…) he said very aware that the heads may have different personalities. (…Do you have a name?…) he asked the strange little creature.

(…No, Master…) it replied. (…We've recently hatched and were taken from our mother and siblings…)

(…I'm sorry…) Harry said. (…Do you have different personalities? Should I give each of you a name? Or only one for all…)

The golden head looked at him and explained that each would eventually develop a personality, but they could all hold a common name, especially if they were all awake at the same time. That was something that would be rare, as they didn't want to fight about who did what when awake.

(…OK…) Harry said. (…Your full name is Tertia, but you are Lux Tertia…) He said to the gold head. (…Nox Tertia…) He said to the black head and (…Sanguis Tertia…) for the one with the red head.

(…We like Tertia and we like our own personal name. Thank you…) Then it explained something about its origin. (…We're not upset to be removed from the proximity of our siblings or parent because we are different from the others. We have been expecting this ever since we were in our egg. It is the way things are done with magical snakes that are bred for the purpose of producing eggs for the human Wizards…)

(…Why?…) Harry asked curiously. (…I mean why breed you for your eggs?…)

(…We don't know…) It said. (…Why don't you speak to the others in the room? We wish to return to sleep, Master. May we?…)

(…Please just call my Harry…) He said. (…Of course you may go back to sleep…)

The others just watch in fascination at the hissing conversation and then they were surprised that Harry put the lid back on the crate. "She wanted to sleep some more," he said explaining his actions. "She did say something about being bred for the purpose of producing eggs for humans. What did she mean by that?"

Hagrid smiled and answered this question. "In our Worl' there be potions 'n Potions Masters. They be the ones creatin' 'em. They take bits of skin or plants, venom or eggs 'n create potions fer healin' 'n other such things, like poisons or ta change yer looks. Potions is some'fin that ye'll be learnin' in 'Ogwarts, but I suppose there be no 'arm in ye learnin' about that subject earlier then most other folks. See we 'ave a Potions Master that don' really like to teach young'uns pro'lly cause the young'uns don't really pay him no mind. He ain't 'xactly one o' the kindest Pr'fessors there, still he truly knows 'is potions."

Harry frowned at that. He kind of knew which House he had to be placed in at the school, especially with the House system and such, but to have a teacher that wasn't known for kindness made him wonder if that particular Professor would be fair about things or not.

'_I guess it'll depend which House he's linked to,_' Harry thought. '_I hope it's not Slytherin because if I'm going to have to force the Hat to put me in Gryffindor, then that will just blow up all my plans for the time being._'

"Mr. Potter can learn potions any time, as that is a course that does not require the use of a wand for first or even some second year potions," Risuslux said. "He can pick up everything he needs in Diagon Alley, it would help have part of that kitchen panel converted into a Potions Lab. These bracers will not affect the making of any potion because they were made with goblin magics. We goblins don't generally excel in the potion side of Wizard magics. We brew our own and only when we absolutely need to."

"I like that idea of converting the kitchen to include a lab," Harry said. "Do you have any books about potions and any about goblin anatomy, in the goblin language? Am I allowed to learn it? I mean the reading and writing of it, I don't know that I can learn to speak it without studying your culture, but if I could learn to read and write, maybe I could learn about potions. Maybe why some are effective more than others for you."

"Before I forget," Harry said. "Thank you for the Runespoor and these extra books. I'll have to get my library set up first. I want to look for a shelving solution for it that is similar to the one in my bedroom. Is that particular store far away?"

The goblins were amused that the boy rattled off more things from his shopping list.

Crasgrasp then answered his question, "No Mr. Potter the store is not that far away."

He named the store and then recommended a few of the things that Harry should get in order to begin his potions work. Oddly enough they didn't ask Harry about his income and where the money was coming from. The reason is because again money was money and they didn't _really_ care about how the boy earned it. It was enough that he was earning it and it was increasing the amount in his new vault.

When they had completed everything that they needed, Harry and Hagrid left the bank. "Where'd ye like to go first, 'Arry?" The big man asked.

"The panel shop, then the wand-maker on Canisantiquuis Lane, a couple of book stores, the shelving store…" The excited boy rattled off his list, not forgetting the additional advice to get an Owl for his post and since he had to go into a creature store, he had added full terrarium and other stuff for his new snake.

Hagrid led him around to all of the shops and it was interesting to see that at the wand-makers there were no ready made wands. That particular shop keeper knew her business.

"We are an exclusive specialty shop," she said when Hagrid asked about it. "Ollivander's is a good man and knows how to produce beginner wands for magical schools, however this is a shop that caters to specialty magics that are linked to the _Arca Doctrinas_. We even have the specialty augments or we know who to ask in order to get them."

She was kind in her ways to explain it to Hagrid. When she finished explaining it to him, she turned towards Harry and asked to see his specialty panel in order to get an idea about what he would need. "Also, you need to tell me a little bit about any past-time or hobby that you may have developed because of it," she said. "You needn't worry because we're such an exclusive shop we only cater to one customer at a time and no other can walk in while we're creating a wand."

Harry looked to his magical guardian for an idea on how to act in this particular case, but this time it seemed that Hagrid didn't know anything about something like this. "All right," he decided and he pulled out his fully paneled _Arca_ with the new multiple compartments that he had purchased half an hour ago.

The shop keeper looked at the specialty panel with a critical eye and had a basic idea of what may be taught in it. She wasn't sure because it can only be confirmed by the types of interest or hobbies that a person takes up, upon learning something from one of these. She was surprised because this was obviously a well used _Arca_ that had been augmented to become a Wizarding Trunk with multiple compartments.

"You obviously are a studious one," she said. "However I need to know about this panel." She was pointing to his specialty one and continuing on, "Specifically the hobbies that have come out of it."

"Drawing, painting and a bit of sculpting," Harry told them. "Right now I make costume jewelry by Muggle methods, but the lessons in that panel help. I need a wand to help control the magics that are… leaking into the pieces that I make. Does that help? Is that what you needed to know?"

"Yes my dear," she said. "That's exactly what I needed to know. Now let's begin…"

Harry and Hagrid were then introduced to the fine art of Wand Making from a different method than what Hagrid was familiar with.

"Sometimes, we look for the core first and sometimes it's the wood that calls out first," Cassiope said. She was one of the shop's owners. The name of the shop was Cass Elea (kass, eelee) Wand Specialists.

"So young man," she said taking down two trunks. "Let's see what's calling to you first. All you have to do is put your hand in here, no peaking and feel the magics called out to you."

He was about to reach in with his right hand when she stopped him. "No, no," she said noticing the ink stains on it. "You must reach in with hand that you don't use in writing. It will only confuse the magics."

Harry looked confused because he used both hands for writing. "Umm…," he said nervously, looking from one to the other. He shrugged his shoulders and explained, "I use both for writing."

She blinked, looked closer at both his hands and looked towards his guardian. Hagrid nodded having witnessed it every time in Crasgrasp's Office. If Harry needed to write something his dominant hand switched depending on the obstruction. If there were books on his right side, then he'd write with his left hand. If there were papers on his left then he would switch his writing hands.

"I didn' see any difference in the writin' neither," he confirmed.

"Well this is unique," she said looking at the boy who was still looking at his hands. "When you do the works for the arts you do. Do you have a dominant hand?"

"It depends on what I want something to look like," Harry said. "Everything I draw with my right hand has more lines and maybe looks more rigid. If I use my left hand, the drawing seems to be more whimsical. If I used both in my drawings then the drawing sometimes turns out a little strange, but they are very interesting to look at."

"Did you practice with both?" She asked.

"Yes," he said. "Sometimes I get hurt from my training, but that depends the exercise that I'm doing because I could strain or pull a muscle. When that happened, I couldn't continue my written works unless I switched me hands for writing."

"Tha' be verra good there, 'Arry," Hagrid said. "I knows what it be like ta sometimes hurt yerself by acciden' 'n then be stuck workin' around bandages if'n ye couldna get ta a healer in time."

Harry nodded because that's exactly what happened. Plus the number of times before he was moved into the smallest room of the Dursley home, he was still being bullied by his relatives. Often with the results of having one hand or the other arm out of commission, sometimes it was only due to scratches, cuts and cooking burns, but one limb was not usable during that period of healing.

"I figured out early on never to show a preference," Harry said. "That way I could always complete my tasks."

"Well we'll just have to see how to go about this," she said. She'd never had a client like this before, but maybe Elea knew how to go about selecting wand components for cases like this. "Please, just wait a moment while I speak to my colleague. She's only in the other room. However, if you feel any magical pull from either of these, just reach in with either hand, palms up, and pull out whatever lands in it."

Harry nodded and they watched her leave the room. "Ye jus' confused 'er a bit there, 'Arry," Hagrid said trying to calm the boy's worry about being so different. "Let's 'ope tha' her fren' unnerstans' this kinda thin'."

Harry smiled at his magical guardian. Then being the curious child that he was, he looked at each of the trunks. There was a hole in the top and the lid was kind of see through. He could see lots of stuff moving about inside and he knew that when she said no peaking she meant that he was not to look through the top to choose what he would prefer to have.

"I be thinkin' that the no peakin' part o' 'er comment was fer folks tha' be knowin' wha' all o' this is," Hagrid said looking through the lid too.

Harry nodded and said, "I'm feeling a pull from the other trunk, though."

"Mind wha' she said," the half-giant reminded him. "Palms up 'n let wha'ever it is seeking ye ta be settled a'fore ye remove it from the trunk."

"Yeah," the boy agreed. "But which hand should I use first?"

"'Ow about ye jus' place both o' them on the top o' the trunk 'n see which tingles the most," Hagrid said. "If'n ye knows 'ow magic feels from yerself then ye can know which 'and ye be needin' ta place in the trunk."

It was sound advice and it was only after Harry placed both hands on the lid he felt the tingles in equal amount. The half-giant could see the problem and then said, "Place one in it 'n then the other, but I be thinkin' ye need ta use yer dominan' 'and first."

"How can I tell which is which?" The boy asked.

"Put your hands together in a prayer motion, keeping palms and fingers together, spread your fingers and then let them fold together, naturally. It must be a comfortable unthinking action and whichever thumb is on top of the other, that is your dominant hand," another female voice told them. "My name is Elea," she told them. Turning to Hagrid, she said, "You've given your young friend, here, sound advice. Sometimes in the magically strong, it is more difficult to notice which hand is more sensitive to the magical _tingles_ or auras." She looked at Harry and told, "Find your dominant hand and then follow your guardians advice. It's not wrong."

Harry did as he was told and found that his left thumb was over his right. Confused about it, he forced his hands to fold the other way and it just felt wrong. Well maybe not wrong, but it was certainly an odd feeling to have his right thumb over his left. He closed his eyes and did it again to be sure and sure enough his left fell over his right.

He smiled at Hagrid and then at other wand-maker. Next he put his left hand in the trunk with his palm up and it didn't take anymore then six seconds in there when something long and cool landed in his palm. He closed his hand and pulled it out. Still feeling that there was something missing and that it was supposed to come from the same trunk, he put his right hand in with the palm up. This time it took about twenty seconds and he had another thing land in his upturned palm. Closing his hand, he pulled that out of the trunk too.

"Well now let's see your left hand first," she said and then she gasped. In his left hand there was a nearly two foot length of warm stone. It was warm because it had been in his hand for a bit. "It's a diamond shard," she said explaining what the stone was. Then she had him open his other hand and in it was nearly a three foot length of thick wood from a blue fig tree. "Well you certainly are a surprising customer," she said. "I think that what we are being asked to put together for you is a walking stick."

She explained that sometimes there was a calling to create a Wizard's Staff and the majority of other times it was to create a wand. However there were only two other times in her life that she was called to put together a Wizard's Walking Stick because this was the one kind of magical tool that could grow to the size of a Wizard Staff or shrink down to the size of a Wand for easy portability.

After she explained what a Wizard's Walking Stick was, she then said, "You must be very powerful in order to even have one. Don't you worry, I've created two others like this before and have never told another living soul about who they were made for," she explained. "I'm not in the business of losing business. Besides you're still young and there may be a time when you'll need to have to come back to have that adjusted for your growth. Now you need to do the same in order to find the cores for your Walking Stick."

Harry placed his left hand in the other trunk and soon there were two small round items that landed in his palm, doing the same with his right hand, two more small round items landed in it. When he pulled them out and he looked at them, he knew then that he and Hagrid would have to go back to the store that sold the _Arca _items.

He didn't want to tell the shop owner that he could read the markings on the new panel that had appeared under the glass counter, but with the items he now had for the core of his Walking Stick, he knew that he had to go back. He sighed and slumped his shoulders. He didn't want to be different from any of the others, but now he had no choice.

Elea was surprised with the contents in his hands and then she looked at the boy's _Arca_ and knew that something was wrong with the _specialized_ panel. "Ah," she began. "Young man…"

Harry sighed once more and looked at Hagrid, "We have to go back to the store with the _Arca _stuff. I'm sorry. I just didn't want to take another specialty panel. I …"

"'Arry," Hagrid said in a semi-chiding tone. "Ye needn't be afraid ta learn wha' ye be needin' ta learn. I knows ye think it'd be greedy to get another panel, but jus' think a bit. Wha' about the next panel waitin' ta be revealed if'n ye don' take the one ye can read. Yer gonna be stoppin' another studen' from gettin' wha' they be needin'. It's all right ta be special, 'Arry. Yer a special boy 'n ye mus' be needin' tha' new special panel or ye wouldna' gotten a reminder."

Harry hung his head as he realized that he would be preventing another kid the chance to learn something wonderful because he didn't want to get a new specialty panel. "All right, Hagrid," he said. "I don't have the panel yet, but I know what it might be about." He looked at Hagrid, rather then the shop-keeper. "Elements," he said.

Hagrid just beamed at him and told him that it was all right and that he was proud of the things that Harry was able to learn. "Ye'll be findin' yer place in this worl' soon enough," Hagrid said. "Don' ye be worryin' about tha'. Jus' be yerself 'n ye'll be fine."

"Thanks, Hagrid," he said. He looked to the wand-maker and told her the same thing that he told her friend, about the kinds of images that his drawings had taken on, depending on the hand that he drew with. He went one step further and said, "I haven't been working with colours. I can't understand why not, but when I saw that new panel under the glass counter I kinda knew."

She smiled at him and told, "This will take some time to put together. Why don't you return to that shop and get your other specialty panel. I have a feeling that these are the only two that you will be getting anyway. Finish your shopping and return by four o'clock this evening. We should have your walking stick ready for you by then."

"Thank you mam," Harry said.

"Yes'm," Hagrid said too. "Let's go 'n get the other stuff on yer list 'n by then we should be done. Wha' do ye say 'Arry?"

Harry agreed. Then he nodded and thanked the lady again. They both left the shop with the poor woman wondering how, in the name of Merlin, were they ever going to put together an acceptable Walking Stick, for the Boy-Who-Lived.

--

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** In writing this story, I did in fact realize that there would be a question raised about Harry's aging within the trunk versus the passing of time on the outside of it. I didn't wish to comment on it nor make a reference within the story about it, but due to a very good feedback review from **ReflectionsOfReality** I believe that I must address this issue within this next chapter. Thank you, Reflections.

**Author's Note II:** The folding of the hands do not really indicate which hand is your dominant hand, but it does indicate which side of the brain you use more. If your left thumb is over your right in a naturally folded position then you're more likely to be right-brained thinker. If your right-thumb is over your left then you're more likely to be a left-brain thinker.

This is the _**only**_ thing that I have ever retained from my last year of High School Biology Class and it only contained brief overviews about human genetics. Left and right sides of your brain actually operate the opposite sides of your actual body.

Check this link (remove the spaces) if you're interested in more information about quirky human genetics: http:// www. genetics. org/cgi/ content/ full/ 165 /1/269

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

----------------------

Chapter Three

----------------------

**Let's start at Summer & Turning 11 years old**

Harry was in his _Arca_ currently studying Potions and various potions ingredients. He had been able to pick up more than a few books on the subject. Hagrid had been able to steer him away from the common shops of Diagon Alley and into the stores that would not be selling his first or second year books. These particular stores held the older stuff or the more obscure.

He was surprised upon his arrival back at the Dursleys that his Owl, who he got with Hagrid's help, was waiting with another package. Apparently the goblins took him at his word and sent him goblin children's books on how to learn reading and writing of the Goblin language. They wished him well in the endeavor, as it was very rare for a Wizard to even want to learn their complex language. They also stated that now that he had an Owl they would correspond by calling to her and that he was to send her to them when he needed the books replaced.

They knew full well that he would never understand the spoken language due to the nuances that had developed greatly over time. Also, they explained that the books which they were sending were from their own personal libraries and they indicated that any book that he wished to retain would have to be purchased new from the goblin stores. Their written language had a formal and informal form, much like the Asian languages that he was currently studying.

Harry loved all of the books that he had picked up and had received from the goblins. He was lucky to be able to find a semi-rare box set series called "Cauldrons Full". Each book in the set had a similar title and separated the types of potions that each book presented.

One was named "Cauldrons Full of Dreams", which contained many recipes for sleeping draughts and potions or how to prevent sleep.

There was another called "Cauldrons Full of Stew", which contained recipes for stews, they were not really any potions, but there were ingredients that were added to those that reacted in a potion like fashion to help increase nutrients. This was specifically in case a patient or individual did not wish to always have to take nutrient potions.

There was even one called "Cauldrons Full of Possibilities", which contained recipes for of stuff that was just plain fun, like '_Bean Gum Bubbles_', '_Twisty-Etzels Twisters_', '_Lolly Dingle Drops_', '_Pom-Pom Puffs_,' and so much more.

Plus, three others called, "Cauldrons Full of Healing", containing potions related to healing of magical and natural conditions, "Cauldrons Full of Sickness", containing potions of poisons and possible remedies to various poisons, and the last was "Cauldrons Full of Changes", which concentrated on minor changes, temporary or partially permanent, meaning set to expire a change after a specific time frame, to voice, eyes, hair, etc…

The resulting potions from these books were very interesting. They were basically the better beginner Potions books that Harry could have ever picked up in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the whys for this subject. Why things are done in a certain manner and not another? Why something is better to mix with one ingredient rather than another? Etc…

He was also able to pick up several different box-sets of books about beginner Runes, Arithmancy and Alchemical Equations, which was about some of the calculated combinations to the other two subjects. All of which were only selected because he had already advanced far into the muggle mathematics, that calculus, geometry and trigonometry were no longer all that challenging to him. He had moved past the secondary school requirements for that subject and felt that he needed to round out the magical versions of the same.

Runes were just another form of writing and they were obviously more commonly used in the past, so he decided to begin to study them. He thought of them as though they were more like '_short-form_' or '_short-hand_' writing rather than a whole new language. It wasn't as though those were unfamiliar in the Muggle World because he had read about the Norse Runes and the Greek ones from the library in his town. They were found in the fortune telling section, which was a growing hobby-like interest to many different muggles.

He found books about the Ministry of Magic and about all the possible levels of learning available in the Magical World. This was because of the first time that he had met his goblin Estate Manager that the creature had mentioned N.E.W.T.S. (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests) Level. With these books he was able to look over the testing requirements for the N.E.W.T.S., which was the final level for Ministry Testing, he found out that he could show up to the tests without _**ever**_ having attended those classes in a school like environment. In fact all of the possible N.E.W.T.S. available fell under the same criteria, to which he was relieved, especially after finding out about the Potions Professor of Hogwarts.

So he could, quite likely, fail the Potions course in school, but take the Ministry tests at a scheduled date later in his life. There was always the chance that he could attend an earlier testing date and not bother to attend the class in the school. So he wasn't too concerned about that and figured that he'll make his decision after he met the teacher for potions.

Everything would depend on how most of the teachers acted at the school and what possible expectations they would have from him. He wouldn't be surprised if they thought he knew more stuff just because he was known as the Boy-Who-Lived.

'_Unfortunately, I still have to wait for my eleventh birthday,_' he thought. '_My relatives won't be pleased to know that I'm already aware of the Wizarding World. I wonder what's going to happen then_.'

During his time in Diagon Alley, on that day after his tenth birthday, he had surprised the shop owner of the _Doctrina Store_ by returning to retrieve the new specialty panel from under the glass counter.

-----

**Flashback to the Arca Shop**

The store that sold Arcas and their augments was called "_Arc A Knowing_". It was run by a man who was definitely surprised when Harry had returned from the specialty wand shop to claim a secondary specialty panel.

"I'm sorry," he told the surprised man. "It seems that I was wrong not to take it when I was just here." He shrugged his shoulders and said sheepishly, "I didn't want to seem greedy, but it was pointed out that I would be preventing the owner of the next panel the chance to acquire theirs."

"That's quite all right," the man said. "I was going to mention to you that the new panel looked like a compliment to the one you originally had obtained."

"I don't want to prevent anyone from getting the learning that they deserved," Harry said. "Again, I'm very sorry for inconveniencing you, Mr. Nicklesworth."

"Just call me Joe," the shop owner said. "It's short for Josiah, but I prefer Joe."

"Please call me Harry," Harry told him. "Now that I'm back here, could I ask you a few questions about the Arcas and the _time_ they use? I did a few calculations and something doesn't make sense to me."

The shop keeper rubbed the back of his neck, nodded and gestured towards his back office. "You may bring your magical guardian with you," he said.

"Hagrid?"

"I'm wit' ye 'Arry," the half-giant said. "Only, Joe, can ye accommodate me size?"

"Of course I can," Joe said. "Come on in."

They settled into the chairs that the shop keeper had there and fixed for their size. There, they received a brief, yet convoluted explanation about the time, the Arcas and how they mixed together. "It happened about four hundred years ago that the first Arca was created. As many things in this world turn out to be or become, this happened to be a fortuitous accident."

"I don't really know how it happened, but a wizard was creating a trunk for his daughter and her future children. He was trying to expand the space in the trunk to form a school room or nursery learning room for the little ones. One of his Family ghosts happened to be a tutor that died of unfortunate means, but in this story… and this is still only speculation. The ghost wandered or drifted into the spell room just as the father cast his spell. The tutor was sucked into the trunk like compartment and then with another spell to compress the compartment, it turned into a panel, much like the ones I sell today."

"Poor ghost," Harry said. "Was he all right?"

"How long til the fam'ly found out?" Hagrid asked with curiosity.

"Tens years later, the father finished the complete travel trunk for his daughter. He started it when she was four years old. In those days, magical families used to create the items that a family would need. In other words they did their best to provide for the married life of their children. Some families had specialists who were able to provide, protections, quilts, material and immaterial things. Families in those days were clan like and lived in close communities, where they would gather twice a year to exchange goods and just plain celebrate the turning of another year."

"It's like the muggles in the past," Harry said. "Depending on where they lived and how they lived, their entire life was taken up with the purpose of surviving. Mostly ensuring that each human survived to create new life, pass on their history and grow. Many were land workers or foot soldiers for the Lord of their community, town or fief. Many people only lived to pass on their skills and hope that they had been able to pass on a better life for their children."

"'Ow do ye know tha'?"

"I read quite a bit about it," Harry said. "There are still people in small towns that still do things like olden communities. They throw town festivals or carnivals. Some women still gather to form quilting bees and others gather for bake offs, plus lots of stuff like that. Those places tend to be slower to receive the modern stuff that's common now in big muggle cities."

"That happens to be quite true," Joe said. "Magical communities are rare, but if they were to spring up then maybe their way of life might just revert to the times in the past. We certainly had more enterprising inventions come out of those times. Now with regards to the Arca, the father had decided to place the panel on the magical trunk that he had created.

It was a fluke that the daughter went in to inspect the learning room. It was only to have been a room that contained items to learn with, no tutor. But the young woman had been shocked to find the ghostly tutor living in the panel and when everything was explained her father and the rest of her family were able to create a few of the first Arcas."

"What about the _**time**_ thing?" Harry asked, curious to know how that came about.

"It was another uncle, who was very familiar with mathematical magics that discovered a formula to adding time to the learning cycle without affecting the living person. The hourglasses in the Arcas were his invention because as with every discovery there is always a good and bad aspect to it. The family had discovered that they needed find a way to measure the time within a learning trunk versus the time that passed on the outside.

One of the family's healing witches had assisted the uncle and they calculated, mathematically and medically what needed to occur in order for a body to remain healthy. It turns out that to safely use an Arca with no ill effects, an hourglass had to be added and it had to be able to control the metabolism of the person that the Arca was linked to."

"Is that why I'm not aging?" Harry asked. "Why I don't look older? You see I know that I spend a lot of time in my Arca and I'm sure that I spend at least 7 normal hours in it a day for five days of the week and at least 12 hours on any given Saturday and Sunday. That means a total of 45 extra normal hours a week, if not more for me. It all adds up to about 98 more days a year in my life. I did the math. Shouldn't my body have aged about another year and a half?"

"That's exactly what the family corrected," Joe explained. "They didn't want to lose their real time so they used another series of complex magical calculations that helped to slow a body down within the trunks, while being able to work three times as fast in order to learn three times as much in a hour. That's the best I can do to explain it, but everything was calculated and tested so that there were no adverse effects. If a person didn't follow the rules set out in the Arca, then they have to deal with the consequences because anything else falls under the Ministry Laws for the Miss-Use of Time. They wanted to prevent time paradoxes and that is an entirely other issue."

Harry nodded his head. "I don't think that anyone nowadays could come up with those kinds of calculations. I've only ever read something about it in, '_The Founding Fathers of Howgarts and the Women Who Pushed Them_.' I think Rowena Ravenclaw was very knowledgeable in that area and if that family had someone who understands even a portion of what that great lady knew, they must have come from her line."

Joe blinked, quirking his head. He was puzzled. "I have never heard of that book before. May I see it?"

"Sure," Harry said. "I found it in one of the shops that meet in the centre of Novusfelis and Canisantiquus. Speaking of paradox, that nexus-crossroad is very tricky. Reminds me of the Muggle's '_Bermuda Triangle_'. I'll just be a minute."

"I been with 'im in there," Hagrid said. "O' course I gots ta hold on ta 'im or I'd be pulled in. 'E don' know about tha'. I just knows that I'm safe if I hang on ta 'im. Lots o' stores up tha' way, but he can travel in there like no one else I ever seen. 'E's tha' strong."

"You have to tell him," Joe said. "The boy needs to know this too or else one day if you let go by accident you'd be lost in there and he won't know how to get you out. He wouldn't even know that you're stuck."

Unknown to them, Harry was clutching a huge book to his chest and looking very worried. He took a step forward and asked, "Is that true?"

"Aye," Hagrid sighed. "Usually, no one chooses ta stop at the stores in tha' crossroad cause there be no telling wha' migh' 'appen in there. I noticed tha' yer not scared o' it, but I figures tha's cause ye didna' know. I don' want ye to be afraid to go some'ere ye can even if'n I canna' go with ye."

"Oh Hagrid," Harry said. "You should have told me. I would never have gone in, if you told me how dangerous that section is."

"It's not tha' it's dangerous, Arry," Hagrid said. "It's just tha' I never 'eard o' someone actually wantin' ta go inta them stores 'afore. There be a lot stories abou' tha'."

"I promise to try and be careful," Harry said. "There's an awful lot a stores in there and not all of them are there at same time. I just figured it was a magic thing."

"Don't you worry about that young man," Joe said. "I happen to know that those who're are Muggleborn and Muggle-Raised, believe the same thing and that's why they can navigate that section without a problem. They just accept it as it is. Those that have problems are mainly the witches and wizards raised in our world because we learn early on that some things should not be messed with."

"Like time," Harry said.

"Exactly," Joe said. "You're right that there have not been many innovations for a while and those that are created, usually come from the half-bloods, muggleborns and muggle-raised. It seems that they're the ones that want things to improve life. Personally I don't understand that, but that's what it looks like to me."

Harry smiled and the explained that the muggles were continuously trying to improve their lives by building on what came before. He gave them a brief example using the history of the radio and typewriters. How they've move from manual things to complex items with tons of wiring, but and he quoted Joe, "As with all new things there are the good and the bad. Television replaced the radio in one fashion and the computers are close to replacing the both of them because of the internet or World Wide Web."

"My cousin had books about that at home," Harry explained. "Think of the internet as one big Arca that anyone in the world can use, if they have the right password or codes to get in. Think of nothing being limited by anything. Access depends on whether you paid for it or not. Language is not a factor because some of the features include translation services."

"Anyone in the world?" The shop's owner asked surprised.

"Anyone," the boy confirmed. "Anyone living anywhere in the world from here to China to the Americas, anywhere."

"Wow," Hagrid said, impressed. "Wha's the bad o' it?"

"If you connect that way all the time," Harry began. "How long do you think it will take for people to stop leaving their house? How long do you think people will stay connected like that instead going out and making live connections? My cousin is a good example. You've seen him Hagrid. He doesn't go outside to play on most days and when he does he just sits around or chases me to try and beat me up. Not that he can catch me anymore," he said, petting his beloved Arca and looking at the two men listening to his not quite child-like opinions. "Thank you for that."

Joe shook his head to clear his mind from the seriousness of the discussion. Technically the boy had given him something to think about and yes technically the boy sounded like he knew what was going on. '_I suspect that he spends more time learning then his cousin,_' he thought. '_There must be more to the internet thing then he is letting on, as his cousin doesn't sound to be very bright._'

"May I see the book now?" He asked.

Harry gave him the book to look over. It had a very funny cover on it with Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor looking down at their feet and then at each other to roll their eyes and then look back down. There was Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff on either of the men and they were shaking their fingers at them, as though they were scolding the men.

Joe smiled at that and then he opened the book. Looking closer it looked like a multiple compilation of the Founders of Hogwarts personal journals, plus everything related to the beginning of the school. "How did you find such a treasure?" Joe asked.

"In that crossroad," Harry said. "It was a strange little book shop that was above a tailoring store. I pick up some others, but this is the one that said that Rowena knew about time magics and the calculations for it. There are some notes of hers in there, but they're not related to anything I know about mathematical calculations. I figure that these were parts of ideas that she had to write down or else lose them. I do it too in some of my learning books."

"I would dearly love the chance to read this," Joe said.

Harry paused to consider it and then he considered something that has been on his mind for a bit. He wanted something that could help him hide while he was in the Wizarding World from time to time. He knew how celebrities were hounded by the media and he didn't want to be stuck running away all the time. He had an idea, but he needed another panel for it and he didn't know if his Arca could hold it.

Besides it wasn't that common a panel for a boy to obtain nowadays. "Um…," he said. "There's a panel I'm interested in…" Joe smiled and encouraged him to continue on. "I have an idea about how I might be treated when I come into this World for real."

The shop's owner frowned and had to ask, "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm hiding at the moment," Harry said. "I wear this oversized cloak every time Hagrid brings me here because it's not really the time for the witches and wizards to know about me or see me."

"Ah," the shop's owner said looking in Hagrid's direction. "So that's why you were looking for an Arca that would work in the Muggle World and for the older pieces that do not explain magics."

Hagrid nodded, "I wasna' 'is guardian then 'n I had ta keep tha' secret. I wasna' supposed ta look in on 'im, but I couldna' 'elp meself. 'E was such a tiny babe 'n 'e stol' me heart when he fell asleep when we was over Bristol tha' night. I had ta bring 'im, but it's na wha' I wanted ta do."

Harry put his hand on the big man's arm and smiled at his guardian. "I'm glad that he did what did. I'm proud to have this man as my magical guardian." He looked at the shop's owner and said, "I know that it's a tricky game to be playing, but for now hiding is for the best. At least until I get my Hogwarts letter, that is."

"All right," Joe said. "I understand. So what panel were you thinking about?"

"The sewing one," Harry said blushing, a bit, because that was considered a girly thing. "It's the one that teaches how to sew magically and how to match colours and stuff."

"That's actually a good thing," Joe said. "It will help you with an understanding for costuming."

"What?"

"Well your new panel is a compliment to your existing one," Joe said. "I'll lay the new over the other and soon you'll be learning everything about elements, plus emotions behind them and I dare say quite few other related things." He didn't have to know about the writing on the border of the _specialty panels_ in order to get an idea of the type of learning they contained.

"Like what?" Harry asked curious about what else he could learn.

"Acting." The reply came. "Actors need to use a lot of emotion and most times it's all in their faces. If you plan to hide using concealing stuff, you'll need to know how to act differently from the person you're going to be when you are finally going to show the Wizarding World the Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry smiled and said, "I'm glad that you understand. So here's the deal. You can read this book and let me borrow that panel and once you've finished reading it or if something unfortunate happens, like the book is taken from you without your knowledge then I keep the panel for free. I'll of course be getting the book back anyway."

"How would you be doing that?" Joe asked.

"It's tied to me by my magics," Harry said. "All of my things are and I can call them to me, if I've misplaced them or they will appear in front of me if they are not in the place that they are supposed to be in the first place. In the case of this book, I'll tie it to you and this shop, so that if you walk away from it more then fifty paces, it will return to me. This way you can carry it to your home in order to read or leave in this shop for the duration. If the book is taken from your home or the shop by someone who's not you, then after fifty paces the book will return to me."

"It will also mean that something is wrong and that I'd find a way for someone to look you up just to be sure," Harry said. "I wouldn't want you to be hurting and no one knowing about it."

"Thank you young man," Joe said. "All right, we have a deal. However, if I read the book and return it to you, what happens then?"

"You sell me the panel at a discounted rate," Harry said.

Hagrid chuckled and the shop owner laughed. "You have a deal," he said. He pulled out a standard contract for and used very simple uncomplicated language. He named everything that they agreed on and the discounted rated for the panel was agreed at 17 percent.

Once everyone signed the contract was multiplied and copied for everyone. Hagrid called Harry's Owl in order to deliver copy to Crasgrasp at Gringott's in order to store it with other contracts that he felt needed to be protected by not being in his hut at the school. Joe was able to merge the two specialty panels and they all watched as the other panels shifted and merged in other ways.

Overall he now had a five by five grid of panels with the center clear for him to shift the panel he wished to learn from. His specialty panels merged and covered an area designated for four panels in the lower right hand corner of the grid.

He had newly obtained a gymnastic room, a climbing wall, a hiking terrain, and a herbology panel. The gymnastic room, climbing wall and hiking had merged with his existing panel of physical fitness taking up four more spaces in the upper right hand corner.

The herbology panel took two spots because it contained an inner glass-house for small plants and it had merged with his kitchen and potions lab, forming another larger panel in the upper left had corner using four slots. He had his Runes, Alchemy, Arithmancy and Languages merge into a large panel that formed in the lower left hand corner, also using the space for four slots.

That left four more slots in between the larger corner panels and one free space in the middle. He added the sewing one and then selected his crafting one to fit in between the larger upper left and right panels. He placed a second year woodworking and first year mechanical panel between the larger lower left and right panels. He had his muggle first aid and magical first aid between the larger panels on the left and finally he had his animal petting zoo, of small to medium sized creatures, plus an animal care panel in the two remaining panel spaces.

Before they had left the store for the first time, Joe had installed a huge library compartment as the last compartment of the trunk, explaining that it was the largest room in the whole trunk. The next largest was a storage compartment separated into four secure sections.

The final new compartment, which was significantly smaller, was where Harry's little Tertia was going to live. Joe had a huge selection of possible terrariums for a large variety of species. She was free to move about in that expandable space. Harry hoped that she wouldn't be too lonely, but he didn't want to leave her inside a learning panel when he wasn't there because he was afraid that time would affect her too.

He was right. He had asked about that and Joe said that she would be affected just like the rest if she didn't leave and come back. Harry's petting zoo and animal care were just panels to learn about specific animals of a certain size and the animals within were not real, but only came into being for his learning. Those panels did include the learning of magical and non-magical animals, which Hagrid had been pleased about, but he made sure that Harry was playing as well as learning.

That's why Harry got the crafting panel. It was a panel that had planned art projects and kits to work from and the only thing that they needed to buy for it were the ready-made kits that Harry was interested in learning. There were things like how to make your own stained glass windows, how to make your own wind chimes, how make a bird houses, how to make your own wooden toys, how to paint on china and many, many more.

Harry with the help of the shop owner and Hagrid had planned out his learning in conjunction with his original learning schedule. It helped to have advice from these sound sources because he was going to need to plan out his first year learning carefully around what he needs to learn in order to continue learning in his Arca.

-----

**Flash-Forward – moving on**

At the end of their massive shopping spree, they had returned to the wand-makers on Canisantiquus Lane and found that the Walking Stick had been successfully completed. "It took us some time to figure out how to add the four elements of your core to the diamond and wood portion of it," Elea explained.

"In the end we added the four components to the diamond shard and then inserted the shard into the length of wood through the top," Cassiope said. "We had to re-enforce it with these."

She pointed out the darker woods that formed a seal around the top of the stick, where about two inches of the diamond was still visible. There was also an added piece of metal at the base and she explained that since the hardest gem was used for part of the insert. They needed something to hold the whole thing together, which was why they selected the hardest metal available in the known Wizarding World called "_Gigadurum Purat_".

This was only available from the Goblin Guild of Metal Workers, but for some reason, _this time_ they didn't have any problems acquiring the needed metal for the base of Harry's Wizard Walking Stick. The metal nub at the base of the stick had tendrils winding up the shaft in swizzles and whorls, circling the section that anchored the diamond to the whole of it.

There were four strands of metal that reached and clawed into the sides of the stone, but they did not obscure to top of it. In fact the stone itself looked to have grown its own tendrils downward in order to latch into the metal, further securing the entire structure.

Harry had to thoroughly test the expanding and shrinking elements of it, but it was clearly obvious to every one who witnessed his claim on the Walking Stick, that this device truly belonged to him alone. It was too powerful for the ladies of the shop to handle once it was finally put together. They couldn't hold it for long either, no one could.

They did provide him with several augments for his first panel and many more for his newly acquired second one. "Come and see us again, if you need to get more augments," the ladies told him.

He thanked them and was finally able to return to his relatives, who for some reason were not at home. He was able to store everything away before they returned to their home. He was just lucky to have copied the back door key when he did, so that he wasn't locked out of the house with his things.

-----

**Before July 31, 1990**

Just before he was actually able to go to the school, several interesting things occurred. On the day that Dudley turned eleven, Harry was forced to accompany his relatives to the London Zoo. His cousin was still being the pushy brat that he normally was, so it was perfectly reasonable that certain events took place.

Shoving Harry aside because the large Boa Constrictor behind the viewing glass in the Reptile House was moving and hissing, was about the final straw to Harry's tolerance level for the remainder of the day. His wizard magic, now that he knew it was actual real magic, still acted on his emotions from time to time. This was especially true during the times that he relatives pushed, mocked, dragged, commented, derided him and it was pretty much any time that they put him down, that his magic would flare with unforeseen consequences.

Anyway because it still did that, he wasn't too surprised to find that his chubby cousin was stuck behind the glass enclosure and the Boa was set free. It was about to slither away when Harry hissed a warning.

(…You won't get far…) He said.

(…Rats…) It hissed back and then it began to coil around Harry, as his Aunt and Uncle were fully occupied with yelling for help and getting all hysterical that they couldn't reach their son.

Quickly looking around, Harry pulled out a '_Magical Snake-Wrangling_' sack that Hagrid had gotten for him for his last birthday. Hagrid knew that Harry was now taking care of his own education, but the big man still wanted the boy to have presents on his birthday and the sack was dead useful. The sack was something quick and very easy that he could keep in his pocket.

It was to help keep track of his little familiar when he sometimes let her out to wonder about in the back yard, while he did his chores. This was a protection for her because he could call her back into it and safely return her to her terrarium home. The sack was special because it called to the snakes, promising safety and security. Also, it truly pulled them into its centre and put the creatures in stasis like sleep until Harry could move them out of it.

He showed the sack to the Boa. (…Get in here…) He hissed. (…I'll find a way to release you safely back to the jungles you long for…)

(…Gracias Amigo…) The huge Boa hissed. The magical sack sucked the snake into it as soon as the head disappeared into it. It was a special sack that wouldn't even take on any weight, no matter the size of the snake that happened to be sucked in there because it was placed in stasis or suspended animation.

Harry quickly tucked the sack into back into his pants pocket without anyone noticing. They were all too concerned about the fat boy that somehow wound up locked within the animal display. However it didn't take too long after that, that his Uncle realized that he was the one responsible for his son's wet and confined predicament.

The messy haired, green eyed boy was confined to his room for the rest of Dudley's birthday week. This was something he really didn't mind because he could spend his time making better jewelry pieces and do other work inside his _Arca_. Truthfully, if it was a choice of coming out to eat stale left-over birthday cake or making his own stuff, he obviously preferred his own stuff.

It has been some time, but his relatives were slowly noticing the differences between Harry and their own son. They wondered how the _Freak_ could look so much healthier than their baby boy. They refused to question him in the matter, though. They were afraid to catch his freakishness.

Soon there was about a week left until it was Harry's turn to have his eleventh birthday. It was during the time that his cousin was showing off his new ugly maroon and orange uniform, plus hitting things with his '_Smeltings Stick_' when the post had just arrived.

Harry was told that he had to watch his supposedly '_new_' uniform, cooking on the stove. He didn't want to attend any muggle school, but his Aunt was looking forward to having the house completely to herself during the days, that meant his '_Home Schooling_' was no longer an option. They planned to enroll into _Stonewall's General Learning Institute_.

Surprisingly on this day, he was _not_ told to fetch the post, but Dudley was ordered to get it. That boy wasn't curious about anything, so he just picked up the stack of letters and tossed in his father's direction. He even took a swipe his green-eyed cousin with his stick immediately after that, not that he needed a reason to strike out. He was just upset to have been forced to do something that he firmly believed was his cousin's job.

His Uncle was flipping through them when he noticed that there was a letter addressed to their no good nephew. It was even written to the '_Smallest Room in the House_'. It was on that old kind of parchment paper too and he really wasn't pleased to see it. Harry was very much aware that the letter was his, but knew that his Uncle wouldn't let him have a look at it.

"Pet," he said calling out to his wife. She walked up to stand behind him and she too looked at the letter with frowning disdain. He nodded his head in the direction of what his wife called the '_Parlor_' and what he called the '_Living Room_'. Once they were in there, they had a hushed and whispered conversation.

"You know that _Stonewall_ would send him back for the holidays," she commented softly. "I know that that _school_ won't, not if we're clear we don't want him coming back."

"But what about our vow," he whispered. "We agreed that _he_ wasn't to go. We swore it."

She whispered back, "Nothing has changed, has it? Maybe we can get rid of him sooner, if we do let him go now. We can probably set up his _living_ account so that he has to send us a check every week. Maybe find a way pull out a lump for his education."

Vernon thought about that. It would be a substantial sum at two hundred pounds a week for the next six weeks, plus an additional forty-two weeks for the duration that the freak was completely gone. He whispered back, "How about we set that up? Get the money and send him off. Maybe we can send him off earlier. What do you think, my pet?"

Her face took on a sour look and she whispered in a spitting way, "I'll have to talk to the _Freak_ about it. At least our Diddums won't know about any of this, I don't want him to even have an idea about this _stuff_."

The obese man nodded, as though his wife had just handed over pearls of wisdom. It came from her side of the family anyway, so she would know how best to act in this case.

"Can he leave here until he has to go to that _place_?" He asked.

She thought back to the times that her sister had to go and she remembered the one time that she had to accompany her sister to a pub in London. Unfortunately, she wasn't allowed further because only her grandfather had been able to guide her sister further. Her parents and herself couldn't _see_ much of anything. However she did recall that in that weird pub in London there was also an Inn that was part of it.

"He'd have to clean up his room and then we'd have to lock it, in order to prevent his _freakiness_ from leaking out of it," she whispered back, convinced that what he had was catching. "You do know that his being here protects us from those _others_. You know that ones that _killed_ his parents."

Vernon looked down at the letter in his hand. "Don't you think that there is a time limit to that? There has to be another way."

Her eyes widened and then she tried hard to recall what her sister had blathered on about the freakish security that they called '_Wardings_' and such. Thinking very hard, she seemed recall that blood relatives needed proximity for a short amount of time in order to have protection year round.

"A month," she said and then scowled. "Maybe a bit less, but that would mean looking in _her_ books for it."

"How much less time and why don't you get the Boy to look into those books." He asked because he knew that many things had expiry dates, so why not this. "Take a guess pet. If we decide now, then we can let him go, as long as he keeps paying."

"Minimum and this is guessing," Petunia hissed in a whisper. "Two weeks. That's the best that I can safely guess because we get the protection for the rest of the year, if we do that."

"Do you think we can get rid of him sooner?" Vernon said. "I mean permanently. I will not be beholden to the _Boy_ just because of that and I don't care about that freaky protection, it's abnormal."

"We can't get rid of him permanently yet, not unless you want to lose the money," she replied. "He's the same age as our precious Diddums and even though I hated my sister, I could not in good conscience let her boy live without supervision until he was at least a couple of years older. I wouldn't want think that my sister would have put out my boy at so early an age."

He had to agree with his wife in the matter of turning the boy out too early because of his son. His own boy meant everything to him. He wouldn't want to see that happening to him. "Let's see, if something can be set up for a monthly sum for you to withdraw in his name, rather than him having to withdraw and hand it over to you. Perhaps, you can authorize a lump sum withdrawal for his school year. Even if we have to get that bloody meddling Advocate Lawyer mixed into this."

"If we plan it well we'd be able to get rid of him for fifty weeks out of a full year, but get a whole fifty-two weeks of money out of him," the whale of a man said. His greed was flashing, but he knew how closely these things were set up. They would have to be careful.

'_There has to be a way to get all of that money,_' he thought. '_That waste of space certainly has no need of it._'

Petunia didn't want such a huge lump sum from the boy's account because she knew that her husband would squander it. She knew he gambled a lot and she needed to protect some of that money to secure her own future. She wasn't under any delusion about that.

She did, however, agree to the rest and in the end they all went back the Bank, minus Dudley, who wanted to stay home with his friends or so he said. Actually he just wanted to sloth down in front of the television without his own father taking away his control of choosing the programming.

As soon as the situation was explained to the same Child Advocate Lawyer that they had met before, he thought that that might be a better outcome for this young dark-haired youth. '_He's such a surprising kid,_' thought the Lawyer.

"I wonder if I may speak to the boy privately a moment?" He requested from the kid's relatives. "It won't take more than a moment. I would just like to clarify a few things with him, it is after all his choice."

They were reluctant, but they agreed and so the lawyer guided Harry into a secure office. Suddenly the lawyer pulled out a wand and directed several spells to the walls of this office.

Harry's eyes were the size of saucers, but he held back his instinct to pull out his Walking Stick that was currently the size of a wand and stored in his left arm bracer. He was also holding back his secondary instinct to fling a throwing knife at the guy.

"Wha…," he said, shocked that someone would do that in front of him.

"I can understand your skepticism," the Lawyer said. "Your estate manager sends his greetings."

Harry was shocked that his goblin manager would say anything in the matter. However he looked at the man and knew that he was waiting for some kind of question from him.

"Estate manager?" he asked, hoping that that was the kind of question that the man was looking for.

It turns out that it was precisely the question that the Lawyer was waiting for because after that he launched into an explanation of everything. He explained what was going on and options that the boy had in order to sort of '_get out from under the thumb_' of his relatives.

"You see," he said. "I've been watching the transactions from your Muggle Bank Account."

"Muggle…?" Harry asked. "What's a muggle?"

"Non-magic folk," the man said. "I don't really want to tell you too much, but you must understand that I have a bad feeling that those _people_ out there are going to try and get all that they can from you. So against my better judgment and my conscience, I'm about to tell you something very _secret_."

Harry leaned in and waited. He held his breath and hoped.

"You're a wizard Harry Potter," the man said. "You're one of the best in our World. I just don't know what you're doing living with those _people_, but I want to help you out. I don't want see you get hurt because of their obvious greed. So, tell me how to help you and I will. It was your estate manager's suggestion."

Harry sighed because it was very clear that this man was in awe of him. Still, if he could manage it, he would be able to pay off his relatives and find another place to live, one that didn't include them. Although there was that thing about the '_Blood Bond_', he was able to read from his Aunt's lips and that had him concerned.

'_Two weeks_,' he thought. '_Two weeks with them out of every summer. That wouldn't be so bad, let's see what I can set up with Crasgrasp. I'm not going to tell this guy that I know he's full of it because he mentioned my Estate Manager. I __**know**__ that a goblin wouldn't betray anyone in that manner._'

He then told the Lawyer, "I don't want to pay them anything, if I'm going away for school. That money was set up for my schooling, which I assume would include large tuition fees. That surely must cost more than what I take out every week."

"Actually it does, but that is because it includes you room and board, plus meals," the Lawyer said. "I think that the tuition does not even include your books and things. All told, if I recall correctly your fees for the school should be about, twelve thousand eight hundred galleons a year."

"Galleons…?"

"Oh, sorry," the man said. "It's about thirty-two thousand British pounds."

Harry's eyes widened greatly at that sum. "That much…?"

The man nodded and said that the sum included the cost of books, uniforms, possible luggage and any all equipment. He even hinted that there were chemical ingredients that he would have to pay for, only he stated that they were exotic elements for a chemistry-like class.

Harry sighed and said, "I wouldn't let my relatives know about that. I think that they should continue to think that I only need about eleven thousand pounds to live on. If they thought that I needed more, they would certainly ask for it."

"In this room, my oath is sacred," the man said, waving his wand about. "I vow on my magic that I will never divulge any of information of one Harold Jamison Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, regarding the monetary details brought forward on this day. So mote it be."

The spell light bound them in such a way that the man couldn't tell anyone about some of the information that came to light in this room. Besides he didn't want to lose the boy as a client because that boy was smart to seek out his advice for those contracts of his. He was no fool.

"All right then," Harry said. "Maybe we can change the limit so that I can write my Aunt a check for three months at a time or maybe a total of thirteen weeks that will equal to about four times a year. I'd rather that then have her remove the money in my name. Can that be done?"

"Absolutely," the man said. He soon had everything set up and Harry was able to present his Aunt with a check for the next six weeks of his summer. Then from the beginning of September (around normal time for starting any school) he'd send her a check for 13 weeks four times a year, until he was fully listed as an adult. Never once was it mentioned to his relatives that he had access to more.

It was only after she had received the check and that Harry had placed an order to get more paper checks, that his relatives gave him his official school letter. "You don't tell our boy about any of this," his Uncle told him. "He's not to know about any of it. Do you understand me boy?"

"Yes Uncle Vernon," Harry said.

It was all he could say, as he was being lectured about their expectations of him. They told him that he was to pack his belongings, as soon as they returned home. His Aunt was then going to drive him into London and drop him off a place that had a suitable Inn that he could very well stay at for the rest of his summer until it was time for him to go to school.

Harry was shocked. He thought that this was very disturbing. His relatives were actually letting him receive his mail. They were basically shoving him out of the door as soon as they could because of it. They didn't explain anything to him, other then fully expecting him to pack all of his stuff and get out of _their_ house.

He read the letter and it was then that his Aunt explained that there was a place that he could stay at. "Go into that World and don't come back until you've finished your school year," she said. "We don't even want you for any holidays, understand?"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he replied. He then asked, if someone would pick him up at the train station when his school year finished or if he should just go back to the place that she was planning to send him now.

"Later," she said.

They had just arrived back at their house and Harry was given about two hours to clean his room and pack all of his things. She said that he was to prep his room to be completely closed off and that he was to use old dust sheets to cover the furniture in the room.

He was locked in his room in order to do that and he did so very quickly. He dashed off a quick letter and sent his Owl to Crasgrasp with an explanation of what was happening. He told his Owl, the one that he named '_Hedwig_,' to stay with the goblin until she was sure that Harry was alone in the Wizarding World. In his note he expressed his hope that a room could be set up for him at the Leaky Cauldron, unless the good goblin knew of another quiet establishment that Harry could stay at until the beginning of his school year.

A short while later had Harry making sure that he had his ever-full jug of milk and ever-full bowl of fruits stored properly in his _Arca_. He had created a sleeping space within the library compartment to match that of his room because it was a space-saver. He had gotten everything to match, including to cooling-unit and the pantry cupboard just next to it. He moved his food into his _Arca_. Basically everything he could.

The only thing left in the Smallest Bedroom of Number 4 Privet Drive was cloth covered furniture and a wall that looked to have been quickly re-painted a dull beige colour with magic. He had to set the window to reflect that actual room or else his relatives would definitely question the differences. He knew that they would sometimes be looking into his room.

Once he had everything packed into the tiny suitcase that his Aunt had given to him. Lucky thing his _Arca_ fits into any space and that his school trunk could be stored in the _Arca_. He had everything with him. His Aunt had him get back into the family car and they drove off.

On their way to London, that was when his Aunt explained that there were things called "Blood Wards" around their house linked to him and her. "I don't know what any of that means, but I fully expect you to study up on that and get rid of it," she said. "I will not stand for that kind of nonsense around my home."

All he said to that was, "Yes, Aunt Petunia."

Then she said, "Don't you forget to send me those checks by proper methods."

"What do you mean, Aunt Petunia?"

"I don't want to see any _freaky_ owls appear out of no where," she said.

"Owls…?"

"You'll learn, but I full expect the money by proper post," she said.

Then he said, "I could set it up to deposit automatically into your personal account without having to post them."

"No," she said. "Your uncle could then claim that you never sent the money." She looked over to him and told him that he did the right thing by not giving her a lump sum. "Besides the checks will help you track your transactions, don't forget that. Always track your transactions."

She pulled over onto a nearly familiar street. He'd seen it with Hagrid, but he didn't tell her that. "Look at the record store," she said. "Right next to it you should see a sign hanging down, that's where you're to go for the rest of this summer. Your Uncle will pick you at the end of your school year at the train station, but you must let us know what that day is. I expect that to come by regular post too. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he said clutching the tiny suitcase. He was nervous because he was setting out on his own for the first time. She noticed his nervousness, but waited until he had crossed the street and had actually walked into the Magical Inn that only he and she could see the door to.

"Be safe," she whispered.

She had an idea of what might be waiting for him, but she hoped that he would do fine. She knew that her own son would never be ready for such a venture. That was the last of her concern for the boy, as she turned the car around and returned to her safe suburb home.

----------------------

**TBC…**

-----

45 hours per week multiplied 52 weeks = 2340 extra hours in a year

2340 divide 24 hours in one day = 97.5 extra days a year for Harry, which is about an additional 3 & a half months.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **This should be my last _author's note_ for this story. I will be taking every bit of advice that I have received for the beginning of this story and I will write as the muse directs. I will confirm now that this story wants me to visit the years with alternate results for most, but it will not be a chapter a year as I had initially planned. It just won't work. I do hope that you continue to enjoy the direction and any constructive criticism is welcome.

Just to let you all know I am French-Canadian with an odd upbringing and tend to reverse my words because that is how I speak. I switch back and forth between the languages on a frequent basis, but most of it should not be noticeable in my stories. If they are really, really noticeable so as to be annoying let me know and I will correct where I can.

FYI: I have not read any HP book after the Goblet of Fire and most inferences to the other books later on will be either limited to what I've gleaned from HP Fan Stories or be total AU. This will still be a slash tale, but I'm not sure how graphic, so it will remain rated M (mature) just in case.

Please continue to enjoy this and all my other forays into the HP World.

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

----------------------

Chapter Four

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**HOGWARTS: YEAR 1 – Change in Summer**

Harry walked into the Leaky Cauldron and was surprised to find that Hagrid was there, waiting for him. He walked up to the large man and hugged him, fully relieved that he wasn't alone because he had been getting slightly scared about being on his own.

"Come along now, 'Arry," he said, throwing that regular oversized cloak to cover the boy. "We be needin' ta get ta the Bank 'afore it closes."

"Thank you for being here," Harry told him, his voice cracking because he was upset. He didn't show it at the time with his relatives, but he had been worried about what would have happened to him, if Crasgrasp didn't get the letter.

"Eh, now," Hagrid said. "Twern't nothin'. O' course I'll be where ye need me. I was here waitin' ta see if'n ye even got yer letter. I was thinkin' tha' I mighta had ta look in on ye if'n ye didna' get it."

Harry sighed and leaned into the comforting bulk of the large man, who was guiding him to the bank with an arm around his shoulders. "I didn't even have a chance to answer the school letter, but I will once we're in Crasgrasp's office."

It didn't take all that long to get there and Harry was grateful that he could reply to his Hogwarts letter, with '_his Owl_', like the letter requested. He sighed again with relief that he didn't have to brave the Wizarding World on his own at the moment. He certainly hoped that there was another place that he could stay in because he'd observed that the Leaky Cauldron was an Inn with a high turnaround of clients. He didn't think that he'd like to stay in a place like that. He was sure that the people there would be staring at him.

"All right there, 'Arry?" Hagrid asked. The boy nodded and then looked at his goblin manager. He then told them everything that had happened today, like when the Child Advocate Lawyer revealed that he was a wizard.

"He up and told me that I was one too," Harry said. "He said that you've talked to him before and that my '_Estate Manager_' sends his greetings."

Crasgrasp frowned because he didn't recall talking to any Wizarding Lawyer. "What was his name?" He asked.

"Montrose," Harry replied. "Mr. Walker Montrose listed with Rose Associates & Bar. Here's one of his business cards. He was the same lawyer that helped to access my accounts in the Muggle World the year before. He's also the one I went to in order to make sure that I had good solid contracts set up for the work that I was doing."

"Ah yes," Crasgrasp said taking the business cards. "I mentioned that I was concerned last year and did tell him that whenever he saw you he was to send my greetings. I wanted him to be your representative because his business is linked to Gringotts. We send that company referrals or customers with high profiles that need things to be handled delicately. You can trust him, but please if you are ever concerned about the man let me know. Most of the lawyers that this company hires are from the University equivalents to Hogwarts' Slytherin House."

"Oh," Harry said. "Well that's better then. I'll be able to trust him for now and then we'll see. If you can mediate with him and us," he said pointing to Hagrid and himself. "Then I would feel much better. I just didn't like him throwing out the "Estate Manager" thing when he did, but maybe it was needed at the time. I had to play dumb about it though and I'm not sure if he swallowed it or not. Time will tell."

"Tha's a relief and I know tha' ye need to be seen as bein' new to our World, it's just a verra strong feelin' that I be havin'," Hagrid said and then he asked. "Now, wha kinda work, 'ave ye been doin, Arry? Ye shouldna' 'ave ta work at yer age. I knew I shoulda' asked ye last year, but I didna' think it was anythin' bad. Is it, 'Arry?"

"No Hagrid, you can rest easy on that score," Harry said. "It's nothing bad. I just make jewelry using muggle methods. I make lots of pieces and sell bundles of 'em to street sellers for a marked up price. They buy the bundles as is. They're usually either rings or necklaces and once I no longer have the pieces in my possession then they're no longer my business."

Crasgrasp was curious because the boy seemed to making a lot for what seemed like so little and said so. "You must be making quite a bit then, in order to making the income you do…" He let the question hang.

The boy then explained. "The price of the items depends entirely on the items I use to make them. Most of them are cheap costume pieces that aren't worth very much. They're usually made with the cheaper, sturdier metals and semi-precious stones. Sometimes, though, I get a commission for something made with real gold or silver and with real stones. That's where most of the money comes from."

"Rich people like to give hand outs," he smirked at the incredulous looks he was receiving. "They think that I need the money, plus there's a bonus, like prestige or something, when they can promote someone unusual. What could be more unusual then a nine year old boy successfully making jewelry pieces for some of the… well I wouldn't say upper class, but maybe the pretentious ones. You know like business men who want to impress their wives or mistresses. There are quite a few well-to-do ladies who are looking to show up their friends by appearing in public with something unique or known as a '_One of Kind Original_' from somebody that nobody knows, but kinda sounds important."

"I see," Crasgrasp said. He really did too, but he had to wonder what the pieces looked like in order to garner such praise and price, especially something made by a child.

Harry looked at Hagrid and asked, "Can I show him?" Once the half-giant nodded his head, agreeing that the boy could show off his works, Harry pulled out his _Arca_ from the tiny suit case.

"Oh by the way," the boy said looking at the goblin sitting behind his desk. "Do you think that while I'm in there getting some of them that you could find someone willing to return a very large Boa Constrictor to the jungles of Brazil for me?"

Hagrid chuckled, while Crasgrasp blinked several times in rapid succession. The goblin manager pulled out pen and parchment. He wrote a quick note and sent it flying to another section of the Bank. A young goblin showed and began to wait politely, while that half-giant was considering something.

He then asked Crasgrasp, "Seein' as 'ow I'm now 'is magical guardian and all…" he began, scratching the back of his neck in nervousness. "Would I be allowed to let 'im live on one o' 'is homes. I be thinkin' 'e might 'ave a few 'e could be choosin' from, if'n 'e be allowed 'n all. Estate wise, I mean."

"There is nothing in his family's papers against that," the goblin said. "I was surprised to learn that he had been living in the Muggle World rather than the Wizarding one. However I think that will work in his favour, if he's planning to become emancipated earlier then any others. If he did, I would still recommend that he have a magical guardian that he could turn to for whatever his concerns may be."

"Ye needn't worry about tha," Hagrid said. "I always believed tha' I'd be responsible fer 'im when I signed the papers, even when 'e mayn't be needin' me anymore. I'd worry anyhow."

By this time Harry and taken out a lot of his more simple and complex pieces. They were the ones that did well in the Muggle World. Many were in the forms of plain chains with a rune shaped stone in the centre. However the younger goblin was waiting for the snake.

"Harry," Crasgrasp said. "This snake that you're referring to…"

"He's right here," he said, pulling out the '_Magical Snake-Wrangling_' sack. As the young goblin left the room with the sack, Harry explained what happened and how the snake wanted to return to the Jungles that are supposed to be his home.

Hagrid let out a bellowing laugh that nearly shook the office, but turned to quick rumblings and deeper chuckles. The others indicated a similar, but much quieter amusement of the whole deal.

"Wished I'd a been there ta see tha'," the half-giant said. "I bet 'is mum and da were not 'appy about tha'. Ye didna' get in ta much trouble fer tha' did ye, 'Arry?"

"Nah," Harry said. "It gave me enough time to finish a lot of these." At that statement, he showed the clear muggle zip-type baggies. They were about snack size ones, half filled with trinkets.

The baggies were filled with bracelets in one, anklets in another, there was one with only rings and the last was filled with necklaces. They all had a similar twisty like braided form and some were more complex then others. Semi-precious stones twinkled from within their cages of metal links. Some had rune patterns etched in the stones and others were something that Harry called '_Free Form_', which had no pattern, but lots of dangly bits here and there.

All of them had a small copyright logo and a maker's mark that Harry had made sure with the help from, that Montrose Lawyer, were permanently his own. The copyright was the standard **c** in a circle, but Harry's mark or logo was that of a lightning bolt tilted on an angle from upper left to lower right inside a circle connecting it to the circle.

It was the only way that he would ever have recognition and he had received that advice from one of the street sellers that he often did business with. That Logo was registered with the business community and trademarked to his name alone. The Advocate Lawyer saw to that in the beginning too.

Hagrid watch as Crasgrasp and the younger goblin, who quickly returned to drop off Harry's sack, were peering at what they considered inferior pieces. Then Harry opened one of the bags contained bracelets and that's when they felt it. Sensations, emotions, it was like nothing that they had ever experienced. The emotions were still childlike, excited and hyper, full of wonder and awe.

He pulled out a few of them out and let them examine any they wished, as thoroughly as possible. The younger goblin said, "Imagine what would happen if you had real pieces that could contain that kind of emotion, permanent like."

Harry grinned and then said, "I wouldn't be selling those ones to muggles."

"Why not 'Arry?"

"The ones I've met and seen so far are kinda greedy," he explained. "I tried not to have a routine for when I sold these to the vendors, but they do talk about how often someone comes to buy these ones. There were a lot of repeat customers that wanted the exact same thing all the time. The problem is that feeling or emotions and stuff change over time. Even I know that and I can't always be making the same thing over and over. That's boring."

"Yer quite righ' to sell 'em any way ye want," Hagrid said. He turned to the goblins and explained, "We 'ave talked about this 'afore and I knew tha' somethin' like this coulda happened over time. I didna' want 'Arry to be makin' the same thin' all the time. No challenge, ye see?"

Crasgrasp nodded and then gave a pointed look to the younger goblin that had yet to leave after having returned Harry's sack. "I think that you need to delivery the sack and get on with you other duties. Wouldn't you agree?"

The young goblin almost blushed at his inattention and returned the '_Magical Snake-Wrangling_' sack, but then told them, "We've a contact in Brazil, happy to have taken your friend. Did you need to say anything to him?"

"Nah," Harry said. "Once you pulled the snake out, he'll be in stasis for about ten minutes, which should be enough time for your contact to place him somewhere. The boa should be fine since he was raised in captivity, I highly doubt that it would attack your contact."

The younger goblin nodded and left them to their business. His eyes seemed to linger on the jewelry, but at a cough from his superior he left with a bow.

"Now about your question, Hagrid," Crasgrasp said. "It is permitted for Mr. Potter to choose one of his estate homes to live at on a permanent basis. Did you have something in mind or did you want Mr. Potter to choose?"

"Well 'n now," Hagrid said. "I believe tha' 'Arry should be choosin'. It'd become 'is 'ome for the time bein'."

"Really?" Harry asked excited at the thought that he could live in a home of his own. "Will I have to live there by myself?"

"I afraid so, 'Arry," Hagrid said. "But I believe a 'ouse-elf or two won't go wrong. They're dead useful 'n always want ta 'elp. Any house or estate ye 'ave may contain one or two, if not check the ones tha' need a lot a fixin' up 'n they'd be 'appy to fix it up for ye."

"What are house-elves?" Harry asked.

He received a detailed description of the most helpful creatures in the Wizarding World and knew that sometimes he just had to let them be. He had taken his time to look over the information about some of his estates when he was in his finance panel. He knew that there were a couple that would need to be torn down, but he wanted to keep the land and maybe protect it from all intruders.

"All right," Harry said. He listed the ones that he knew, based on aged that might have become so run down that they were no longer livable. "I'd like to see the house and land in Potters Bar," he paused in thought. "I think it's located at the end of Stapleton Close, near Cooper's Lane Road and a bit north of London. I think its farming land, but if it's not a working farm then maybe I can use that extra space to move the stuff out of the more run down places. Make it my home base for now just because it's near London."

"Well the Knightbus will run through there," Crasgrasp said. "So you'd have to catch it, at least a day or two before September 1st in order to be able to catch the Hogwarts Express."

Hagrid nodded and said that he'd pick up Harry in order to begin his shopping for school. "We'll stay tonight in the Leaky 'n pick up most o' yer things tomorrow. We jus' 'ave to 'ave a list ready for tomorrow ready. I know ye'd want to get other thins' so let's make a day 'o it 'n then I'll be takin' ye to yer new place. Ye'll 'ave ta muddle a bit on yer own, but I be thinkin' tha' now tha' yer away from yer relatives ye can contact Crasgrasp 'ere 'n 'e can set ye in the righ' direction fer the thins' ye be needin' fer yer 'ome, makin' it unplottable 'n secure 'n all."

Harry looked at the goblin with the hope that he could continue to correspond with him about such matters. Receiving an affirmative reply, they made their plans and the goblin had a few people looking into that particular home and land prior to letting the boy go there for the next day. He even made sure that there was at least one house-elf available. He knew that some places on Harry's list, were run down and it would require the Potter elves living in them to be relocated any way.

The goblin watched the boy leave the place with his magical guardian, blessing his Gods that the boy was down to earth and that Hagrid was known as a friend to their people. It was a unique time in their lives and he was glad to be a part of it.

"Making cheap trinkets," he snorted. "Infused with emotions… Now that has a lot of possibilities, if only the Humans would accept him as he is and not as some kind of saviour."

--------

The next day Harry was in Madam Malkins' Robes for All Occasions, getting measured for his school robes, when another first year boy walked into the store. He was blond haired and very well dressed.

However as soon as the kid opened his mouth and kept blathering on about '_My father_' this and '_My father_' that, it was very clear who the major influence for this kid was. He sounded so much like Dudley trying to act all superior and Harry was getting very bored listening to this.

So he said, "I'm sorry, but would you mind terribly shutting that trap of yours."

"How dare you…" the blond kid said.

"Look," Harry explained. "I'm sure that you're nervous about going to school, but you're not alone in that feeling. However everything coming out of your mouth sounds like _your father_ put it there. Don't you even have an original thought of your own?"

"You have no right…" the nervous blond said, faltering as he was interrupted again.

"Our letters from the school come to us, addressed directly to us, not our parents, but I'm beginning to wonder if you've even made the choice to attend on your own because from the way you're talking, it sounds like _your father_ ordered you to go to Hogwarts."

"He might have expressed it and that if I went to Hogwarts that I might run into the Boy-Who-Lived," the blond boy confessed in his shocked anger. "What does that have anything to do with you?"

"So you're only attending Hogwarts to get to know the Boy-Who-Lived," Harry said. "Probably on _your father's_ orders too. Well that just _**too**_ bad..."

The seamstress of the store and owner, Madam Malkins knew who was in front of her. She winked at the dark-haired boy and then said, "You're all done dear."

Harry jumped down and stepped in front of the mouthy little blond boy and said, "Your attitude reminds me of my bullying cousin who thought he was better than everyone just because he was given everything that he had ever wanted. Well it is really unfortunate for you that I sincerely doubt that I would want to even get to know you because of that same attitude."

He brushed his fringe away from his _lightning bolt_ scar in very calculated, but seemingly unconscious move. Showing it to the boy and the seamstress, who was still only looking at him with some kind of approval flashing in her eyes, the blond was rendered completely speechless.

"In fact I'm quite sure that I don't. You have a good day now," Harry said leaving the store and waving a hand over his right shoulder.

The blond boy just looked at the place where the Boy-Who-Lived had been standing, not a moment ago. "My father is going kill me," he said sadly. He really blew that opportunity.

"You're done now dear," Madam Malkins said. "You know…" she began getting his attention. "You don't have to tell your father about this. I'm sure you didn't want a life lesson this early, but that's kind of how those things go. Now off you go, dear…"

'_He was dressed kind of fancy,_' Harry thought as he left the store shaking his head and looking for Hagrid. '_Maybe he was born to privilege or something._'

------

Harry had managed to collect all of his school supplies according to his first year list. He got plenty of extras because he still had about a month to go before school began. He sincerely hoped that the boy's attitude was not the kind that he could expect from the other students going to the school.

He was happy to have found his primary learning wand, but wasn't happy about that bit about the '_brother gave you that scar_.'

He was very happy with the results from Crasgrasp's investigation of that house in Potters Bar. It was kind of fun to clean it up and explore it freely. With the help of the two house-elves now living with him, he was soon able to get that house up and running efficiently. Their names were Bing and Bong. He loved their names.

They showed him how to refinish some of the older furniture by hand. Once better wards were put up by the goblins that Harry had hired for that purpose, he was now able to freely use his magic to do some of the work.

There was a shed on site that they cleared out and expanded it internally because Harry still wanted to paint his murals. He still wasn't making them in colour because his instructors said that he needed to develop an understanding or learning the meanings of colours. For some reason that was important and he couldn't deny it because already he noticed when some colours around him affected his mood.

A duplicate shed was constructed on a large scale because he wanted to store the furniture that had potential for refurbishing or refinishing. He created a work shop with all the tools he needed in order to work with the things he needed. He didn't want to create workrooms inside the house, with the only exception being the Potions Lab he was slowly putting together. He had time for all of that.

His house elves were put in charge of cleaning out the remaining rooms and to find the best place for a food garden outside. They were also charge to set up a hobby barn large enough to contain a couple milk producing cows, two or three goats for their milk and cheese, plus pigs and chickens. He wanted this place to have actual chores for him to do and he didn't want to take away anything from Bing and Bong that they enjoyed doing.

A compromise was reached and soon they had a list of daily and weekly tasks that never took a lot of the day for them to do. Although, Harry did suspect that they were looking for more work to, but he explained some of his plans for making additional income.

During his school year they were to go through all of the estates and speak with the house-elves there. They had to overhaul all of the furniture in the estates and the ones that were somewhat hopeless, could still be refinished, but then sold in the muggle '_Flea_' markets at a reduced rate. They elves had be sure that all magics around those pieces were completely removed.

Some elves would be the ones in charge of the livestock and in tilling the land. Harry knew that they didn't have time to plant things yet and that the livestock had to get used to be tended by house-elves. Bing and Bong were given instructions to find elves that preferred that kind of work.

They also had to ensure that the blueprints for the house would be forwarded to him during his time at school. He had plans to refurbish the kitchen and a few rooms into specific categories or purposes. They made all the arrangements and some students were permitted to bring a personal house-elf or have one visit when necessary. Not that they were told about this, but Harry was well read on the subject of Hogwarts and therefore knew quite a bit more about what was actually permitted.

-----

He had returned to Diagon Alley three days before September 1st, in order to replenish his used potions supplies and hunt down more books. Hagrid was with him for the greater part of the day. The big man explained he had some duties to see to before the students arrived at the school. He helped him to get to the train station, but Harry was on his own in order to board the train.

That's when he encountered the Weasley family. They were a unique kind of Wizarding family, with many children and no illusions about their place in this world. Most of them seemed content with their lot and others he observed over time because jealous of the accomplishments of others. However it was clear that the majority of that family were hard workers.

Still he was able to make a friend for the first time. Well it would actually have to be the sixth or seventh, if he counted Hagrid, Crasgrasp, Risuslux, his house-elves and couple of the local town folks in Potters Bar. The town's folks didn't know him all that well and they were somewhat elderly anyway. However, Ron Weasley was turning out to be his first friend that was either Human or his age.

He couldn't wait to begin his first year at Hogwarts.

----------------------

**TBC…**


	6. Chapter 5

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis or __**Quotes **__**semi-direct**__** from the books**_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

----------------------

Chapter Five

----------------------

**Year 1 – Part one of…?**

The first years were all awed at the sight of the huge castle that would become their home for the remainder of the year. It was a very magical site to see in the dark, the lights from the windows and towers flickered. That was clearly evident that this place had no electricity.

The muggleborns were going to be in for a surprise about that. They were going to feel like they've been sent back to the dark ages because some may have brought their electronic devices only to be disappointed that their '_Gameboys_' wouldn't work well in a magically charged environment.

They never noticed it on the train because only the engine of the train was magical, but it ran on old-fashioned steam. All other aspects of it were similar to other trains and they didn't travel through magical areas until they had arrived in Hogsmeade. The first years were too busy putting on their school robes before they arrived so they wouldn't notice, yet, that their comforts from home could not function in this town or at the school.

Once they were out of the little boats, they were guided into through the Entrance Hall and into a semi-secluded room where they were made to wait. Soon a Professor McGonagall met them in that room to explain the House system and that they were going to be sorted into either, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Slytherin.

Ron was nervous because his older brothers said something about wrestling a troll, but since he knew that they liked pranks, he didn't quite believe them. However he was still nervous about it because he didn't want to go into a House that his parents had not been in. His brothers teased him about him getting into Hufflepuff or Slytherin and he always shouted back that he would not.

Harry was nervous in his own fashion because he _knew_ which House he _had_ to get into. It was time to begin to slowly open up and try to act like the boy hero that the Wizarding World wanted from the Boy-Who-Lived. Fighting for his choice of placement is a good first battle. He knew that he would have to fight for it.

Hopefully everything he learned in his meditations would help to close his mind off to the device that would be sorting him, if not he could always threaten it. He had water and fire under his control now, not all aspects, but definitely enough to do small amounts of damage.

He still had his bracers with the two wands. However, they also contained several well-made throwing blades. He had a dagger in each of his ankle bands, plus a couple of throwing blades too. He never knew when he would need them and he was not about go around unarmed, that'd be just plain stupid.

The door to the room opened and they all heard, "Now let's welcome the First Year Students to Hogwarts."

They were led down the centre aisle to the waiting professor holding the battered 'Sorting Hat' and a scroll list in hand, ready to call out the students' names. The Hat famous for it '_Sorting Songs_' didn't waste anytime, as soon as it was placed on the stool, it belted out its song for the year. Coming portents were slipped in with the usual House definitions and an admonishment to all that care must be taken before passing judgment on any other.

One by one the students were called out in alphabetical order, last name first. A few names and students stood out by their reactions or by the reactions of the Hat on their heads. A muggleborn witch whose name was Hermione Granger was very noticeable by her nervous actions.

'_Seems a little twitchy to me,_' Harry thought, while he silently agreed with Ron's assessment of, "Mental, that one."

'_Yep,_' Harry thought. '_She's a know-it-all, that's for sure. Pointing out that the ceiling was enchanted, like we couldn't tell._'

He watched a few get sorted here and there. He did notice that the blond he'd seen in the robe shop, whose name turned out to be Draco Malfoy, didn't have the Hat barely sit on his head before it called out, "Slytherin".

'_Bet his father told him that too, only my guess is he's been told all his life that he'd be sorted into that House and that's why it didn't take long to place him,_' he thought. He just watched as the boy eyed him and frowned before lifting his nose in the air and striding to his House table like he owned it.

Harry snorted and shook his head the antics that were meant to show superiority, but only re-enforced a spoiled upbringing. Two more names and then his own was called. He paid attention to the reactions in the Great Hall.

Hagrid clapped for him, even before he got into a House. The Headmaster, a long bearded old fellow leaned forward in his seat and a black greasy haired man sitting next to Professor Quirrell, eyed him like he was about to become the devil incarnate. He sighed, stepped up to the stool, took a seat and the rest of the Hall disappeared, as the oversized Hat fell over his eyes.

'_Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor…_' he kept saying in his head. He didn't let the Hat say another word. He closed his mind as best he could, which was quite a bit due to his studies, and only repeated the one word, '_Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor…_'

The Hat was miffed that he couldn't analyze the boy. His mind would have been very interesting, if it could just catch a glimpse. However the only thing it could register was the name '_Gryffindor,_' being repeated constantly, plus it received shades of the colour of the House. '_Very well,_' it shouted in Harry's head to get him to stop chanting. '_If you're…_'

'_**Gryffindor**_,' Harry shouted in his mind.

'_All right,_' said the Hat and it grumbled out loud. "Gryffindor, now leave me."

"Thank you," Harry said.

"Like you gave me any other choice," the Hat mumbled.

Harry ran off to the table where the Weasley twins were chanting, "_**We've got Potter**_." The other students of that house were equally pleased and continued to clap for a while, until Professor McGonagall called them to order.

The rest of the students were sorted in short order and he was pleased to see his new friend, Ron Weasley, got sorted into the same House as him. He waited with the rest of the students, until the meal was served. He watched and listened to them tell their stories, like Seamus who was "half 'n half" and to Neville, whose Great Uncle Algie like to dangle him from the second story balcony of his home in order to test for magical ability.

He tasted the food in front of him, a bit at time before selecting his preferences. It's not that he was picky, but he had gotten used to a certain amount of spice in his meals that he was kind of relieved that everything was kind of bland because then he could add his own spices to it. He pulled a couple of shakers from the hidden pockets in the sleeves of his robes and suddenly he felt a burning flash of pain from the front of the Hall.

He quickly brought the heel of his palm to rub against his tell-tale scar, hoping to rub the pain away. He looked towards Professor Quirrell and asked Percy Weasley, who was sitting just beside him, who that greasy-haired Professor was.

"Oh, that's Professor Snape," Percy told him. "He's in charge of potions, but everyone knows that it's the Dark Arts he fancies."

Sure enough the Potions Professor observed Harry's dilemma and seemed to quickly turn away to look at his seated companion to the right of him. His brow furrowed at Professor Quirrell and Harry noticed that reaction.

Harry blinked. He was still facing the front of the Hall and that's when he noticed that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was not facing him. He wasn't sure, but there was something about that awful purple turban gave him the willies. He could almost swear that he had seen it move, but he quickly ignored it and returned to his steak dinner.

He was happily adding a little of this and that to the potatoes and the meat. The others at the table wondered what that he was doing and what intriguing smell now was, but they didn't ask him. They all just watched as Harry ate his meal enthusiastically, after he returned the spices back to the hidden pockets in his sleeves.

Dessert was even better because he didn't have to add anything to improve the sweets that were called forth. However his energy for the day was leaving him fast because this was perhaps one of the first times that he hasn't napped at some point in his _Arca_. He couldn't very well take an hour from his train ride in order to get three of sleep. Not without getting questioned by his new friend.

It seems that he was going to have to be very careful with his studies and he would definitely have to be clear to Ron that he would need some _private_ time to study on his own. Harry just didn't know if he could study with other people around him.

Then after a couple of more announcements, plus one threat of '_**dire death**_' if any student dared to step foot into the third floor corridor, they were forced to sing the most horrendous song he had ever heard.

'_A school song with no tune,_' he thought with a mixture of awe and horror. It was awful.

The new students were lead to their new homes for the remainder of the year. The Prefects were all shouting, "First years, follow me," and "Keep up now you don't want to get lost." It was a quick affair to get to their common rooms and then to find their dorm room and tuck into bed for the rest of the night.

Harry was careful with his _Arca_. He looked around and then he chose to tuck it between the wall and the head board for now. He was wondering if he should carry with him everyday or leave it inside his trunk. Right now he was too tired to bother about it at the moment.

-----

During the first week of school he had a first hand chance to observe how the students and teachers responded to him. He wasn't too happy about that because they gawked at him. They stared and generally made him so uncomfortable that he resorted to staring right back at them with the same look. If that didn't shove their rudeness into their faces and he told them that if they wanted to stare at him like a specimen in a Zoo that they could very well pay for the privilege or else move on. Some of the time he flat out told them that they were being rude and that they were making him late for class.

Throughout all of this, Ron looked at him and didn't know how to react. Most times he just asked, "Something wrong mate?" Knowing that that question would cause the others staring at his friend to move along to their classes. It did help.

Looking down at his schedule, it was nearing the end of the week when he realized that they hadn't had one class with the Slytherins yet. "Maybe we won't," Ron said, but then he noticed the last class of the week. "Spoke too soon. It looks like we have double potions with them Friday. Well at least we have the afternoon off."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, as they rushed to their first Transfigurations class. Harry was looking forward to this class, but they discovered real quick that most of their first year classes had to do with theory and memorizing wand movements. It didn't make sense to Harry with regards to the wand movement issue, but who was he to argue about it.

On Friday at breakfast the mail arrived and it was the first time that Harry received a letter at the school. He received several in fact, but he only opened the most important one at the moment. It was a note from Hagrid that said:

_Harry,_

_I know that you have this afternoon off. I was wondering if you'd like to help me out in the Forest. I have an ashwinder nest that needs to be moved and I was kind of hoping that you'd be able to talk to them. You can even bring Tertia, that way she'd get some fresh air._

_After we're done we'll have some tea, so invite your friend to come along around 3pm._

_Let me know,_

_Hagrid_.

Harry quickly dashed a note saying that he'd be there at the lunch bell. Then he told Ron to meet him at Hagrid's Hut at 3pm for afternoon tea. "What are you going to be doing before that?" Ron asked him.

"I have some things to do, like homework and stuff," Harry said. "I'd kind of like to do them on my own. I hope you don't mind. I'm just not used to having lots of people around when I study."

"That's all right," Ron said as they were gathering their things to head down to their potions class. "I guess I understand."

Slytherin and Gryffindor mixed classes were some of the worst nightmares for Professor Snape. He wasn't looking forward to teaching this one. '_Potter's brat is finally here,_' he thought to himself. '_I just hate how I'm going to have to act. I can't let the boy know that I was the one responsible for delivering that damnable Prophesy. He has to hate me. I have to be sure that he does._'

This was one of the hardest things that he ever had to do. '_There's no way that he'd know the answers to the questions I'm planning to ask,_' he thought, making his way to the classroom. '_I doubt that anyone would, although Minerva did say to watch out for Miss Granger, even Flitwick said that the girl was quick_.'

He stepped out of his back office and into the semi-dark classroom. He faced the students and watched them all before he stepped out of the shadows. He began with his normal introduction about "_Ensnaring the senses, brewing fame, bottling glory and stopping death_."

He did notice that Potter was writing something, but he only assumed that the boy was writing a note to his friends. "Mr. Potter," he said with disdain and startling the boy. "Tell me _**what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood**_**?**"

Harry thought about it and then he frowned. '_There's something missing,_' he thought. '_The question is not clear. He has to have added something to the infusion because you can't just have the wormwood alone_.'

So he said, "I don't understand."

Hermione was on the other side of him, eager to prove her knowledge. She had gasped out a near silent, "Oh." Her hand rose up in the air trying to get the teacher's attention.

"Hmph," Severus muttered. "Well, then let's try another. _**Where would you look, if I told you to find me a bezoar**__?_"

Harry huffed and thought, '_What's he trying to do? I still don't know what he's looking for. It entirely depends on the potion or the strength of the bezoar he needs. Maybe I should ask…_'

"What is strength of bezoar are you looking for?"

Hermione thinking that Harry didn't know what he was talking about, started to shake in her seat, while trying to wave her hand to indicate that she knew the answer.

"Are you being impertinent?" The Professor asked while thinking, '_What's little brat up to?_'

"Well the strength of the bezoar that you need determines the location that it can be found," Harry said. "If you're looking for a generalized answer, then I'd have to say that most bezoars can be found in the stomach lining of goats. But if you're looking for something that is stronger for more specific potions, like 'Nini's Nasty Nectar', then you'd have to go to Africa for the bezoar because that's where the tree-climbing goats are. They grow them in their gall bladders. If you're looking for the more subtle or gentle one, those can be found in the kidneys of the burrowing goats of Australia, specifically the ones that live under Baobab trees. The absolute strongest, most useful and never needing to be replenished type of bezoar is the one that can only be grown in the appendix of a human and must be obtained before the appendix bursts or else the bezoar is ruined and the human dies."

"Enough," the Professor said. He was shocked by the answer just like the rest of his class. "I meant generally."

Harry nodded and then said, "The stomach lining of a goat." He then waited for the Professor's next question as he knew that the man wasn't finished with his test questions.

'_This should stump him,_' he thought. "Tell me, _**what's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?**_"

Hermione was now agitated that the Professor wouldn't pick her, but she still tried to get his attention by waving her hand. Her eyes were practically saying, '_Pick me, pick me, I know the answer, I know it, pick me._'

Harry frowned at the trick question. It was obviously a trick question, but he answered, "They are alternate names for the same poisonous plant, which is also known as aconite. Depending on the potion, the name of the plant may change. That is specifically due to the time of day you're supposed to harvest it for said potion."

Professor Snape frowned. "If you could answer these last two questions, why didn't you answer the first one?"

"Oh, I didn't know what ingredient you'd have added to the wormwood infusion. Because any infusion of wormwood for potions is never the lone ingredient," Harry said. "I didn't know what other ingredients were part of the infusion, so I couldn't tell you the name of the potion because there are six potions that I know of, which use an infusion of wormwood with several other ingredients in the mix. Adding the powdered root of asphodel is a requirement to all six of them. However their current names are, '_**Draught of Living Death**_', '_Kirky's Conscious Krasher_', '_Enfant Domares_', '_Totus Somnus_', '_Domitare Gutta_' and '_Endora's Poculum_'."

A first year knowing any of this information would be suspect, but Severus was even more suspicious of Potter's brat because he was under the same assumption as everyone else. Potter shouldn't know this because he'd been living in the Muggle World since that fateful night. He raised his eyebrow and frowned.

Then he barked at everyone else, "Well, it appears he is correct and you should all be taking notes of this. Potter you will stay after class."

There was no incident in class because Harry stopped Neville from adding his porcupine quills too soon in time to prevent a disaster. He did lose two points for interfering with a student's learning process. In the end the students turned in their potions and Harry just told Ron to meet him at Hagrid's Hut at 3pm.

"What about lunch?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head and said, "I don't know how long it'll take here and I've extra food in my bag for lunch. See you at three."

Ron was disappointed that his friend wasn't going to be around for lunch, but since he did room with three other boys, he had been asked to join them as Dean was going to explain the game of Muggle football. The boy had brought one with him because he noticed that the Wizarding World didn't have any when he was shopping for his school things with his parents.

Professor Snape shut the door with his wand and motioned for Harry to take a seat closer to his desk. "How does a first year like you know about the human bezoar?" He asked. "It's not in _any_ of the required works for this school."

"I asked around Diagon Alley if a student before their first year could study potions before even coming to the school," he explained, but didn't indicate _when_ he had asked around. "I was told that there were no restrictions to it, so I studied the subject. Well when I found out about the Human bezoar in one of my potions books. I was curious about it and looked into the history on the making of it. I had also read quite a bit about the Ministry of Magic and how criminals were punished. In the Muggle world most of our _Evening News_ is filled with some criminal act or other. Different countries and some individual provinces or unified states have their own versions of punishments for different levels of criminal infractions. I was curious about what the Wizarding World has and that's how I found out about they allowed a Human bezoar to be made."

"That still does not clarify, how that would tell you about the Human bezoar," Severus said. He was very curious about that.

"The Ministry of Magic has a law that states that a person convicted to a life sentence in Azkaban can have the option to undergo the procedure to grow a bezoar, providing they still have an appendix for one to grow in," Harry clarified. "If the procedure is successful, then the prisoner can be released with a two year reclusive probation, after which they are entitled to return to their lives fully pardoned. I think that the two year seclusion is to give them a chance to recover, some do and some don't after going through the process."

"Where did you read this?" Severus was absolutely fascinated. He had never heard of that law and he didn't how the Human bezoar was made. He'd only seen one that he Master of Potions had shown him once during his apprenticeship in Art of Potion Making.

Harry said. "It was the most disgusting thing that I had ever read, but it was a fully Published Treatise on the making of them. It was an Auror for the Ministry of Magic that conducted the experiment on the lifetime prisoners in between 1347 - 1389. I believe that the Ministry took that Treatise and made the Law from it."

"Do you happen to have a copy of the treatise with you?"

"I left that at home," Harry said. It was true that he may have acquired a lot of books for his library compartment, but he was slowly filling up his home library. There were just some things that he couldn't bring to the school and frankly the books he was having the Goblins looking into purchasing were not quite Dark or Light. It wouldn't do to have anyone at the school know about them.

Upon reflection maybe he shouldn't have mentioned this one in class. "I didn't think that I would need something like here at the school. Besides it was part of a book that several other Treatises on human experimentation and their results, I didn't want to accidentally lose it here."

"Of course not," the Professor sneered. "It wouldn't do for the Hero of the Wizarding World to be seen with such questionable documents."

"Exactly," Harry agreed, which immediately startled the Professor. He looked at the man and then came to a sudden decision. He always followed Hagrid's advice about judging for yourself who to trust and for some reason there was something about this Professor that he was inclined to trust. He just wasn't sure what it was, though. Because of that, he asked, "When I go home for the Yule holidays, will you be available to come over for tea one afternoon or perhaps you'd like to stay for an extended period? You can view it then, if you like."

"I will have to think on it," Snape said. He was surprised at the nearly spontaneous invite from the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Well, if you do wish to see it, I will have to ask that you take an Oath of Secrecy before you do. In the mean time you still have a couple of months to think on it," Harry told him. "If that is all Sir, I need to get to my lunch and my next appointment."

Professor Snape frowned, but nodded and allowed Harry to leave. '_There's something about this boy that I can't put my finger on. Why in Merlin's name would he need me to take an Oath of Secrecy?_'

Putting his thoughts away into another part of his mind and far away from the eyes of any in the school who tended to enjoy roaming about in someone's head, which is a somewhat frequent occurrence when he happened to be in the presence of the Headmaster. That meddlesome old man still rummaged in his mind occasionally because it was a matter of control over his Potions Master.

He made his own way to lunch in the Great Hall. He watched the students and carefully kept an eye out for Potter's kid, but the boy didn't show.

-----

Harry left the class and hurried to his dorm room in order to retrieve his _Arca_. He went over to Hagrid's hut and the large man told him that they would leave once the hour for lunch was up. Harry asked if he could go into his _Arca_ for an hour, in order to put away a few things and to eat his lunch in there.

Hagrid agreed and for that one hour, the half-giant waited for the boy to finish, whatever it was that Harry needed to do. He understood that the boy needed his time and he had a sneaking suspicion that he hadn't be able to go down into his learning trunk for most of this week. '_Unless he was able for make an evening schedule for himself,_' the big man thought.

Harry came out of the trunk relaxed and refreshed. "I'm ready now," he said. He wrapped Tertia around his neck.

Hagrid gathered a crate like box that was actually the Wizarding World version of a cooler. The eggs would be stored in it while the parent snake could be transported in a snake wrangling sack. However since the eggs are deadliest when left on their own they needed to be frosted for transport not frozen.

They stepped out into the forest and slowly made their way towards the ashwinder nest. "How long have they been there?" Harry asked.

"The eggs were laid just the day 'afore yesterday," Hagrid said and then he explained. "The female laid them 'n the 'allow of a Maple Burning Bush. It wouldna' be so bad 'cept it's a high traffic path tha' the older students use all the time for their outdoor studies."

"I see," Harry said. He did see and as useful as the eggs may be for certain potions it wouldn't do for the students to get burned for their studies. "Is my snake wrangling sack going to be all right?"

"Should be just fine as long as we can move her without her fighting us," Hagrid told him, trying to put the boy at ease. "Have ye studied the charms needed for handling an Ashwinder?"

Harry smile at him. "I just did and I practiced in my _Arca_ too." He frowned and asked, "Am I going to have to freeze the eggs or just frost them? Doesn't freezing them kill them?"

"Ye 'ave it right, 'Arry," the half-giant said. "Ye'll need ta use the Frost charm, mayhap with a time condition added for control. If 'n ye were ta freeze 'em then they'd die. They'd only be good for potions then. So tell me the spell words."

Harry looked at Hagrid and said, "Gelu intervillum quendini temporis," he said. "That is, unless you want it to last longer then fifteen minutes."

"Nah," Hagrid said. "Ye'll just 'ave ta gelu the crate first for a longer time period and then the temporary gelu on the eggs will last longer without needin' ta renew it."

"When do you want me to do the frost spell?" Harry asked.

"Not til we're near her and we can explain it ta the lady snake," Hagrid said. "Ye may 'ave ta show her that we mean no 'arm. Do ye 'ave the wand movements ready?"

"Yep," the first year Gryffindor said. "I practiced them with both wands. The charm is stronger with my walking stick, but that's because of the water element. I'm good at controlling that and fire in small areas."

"Good for ye, 'Arry," the large man praised him. Harry was happy that the half-giant wasn't disappointed in him. "I'm glad tha' yer practicing the spells with both wands. I 'ope tha' yer not 'aving ta much trouble with 'em?"

"Nah," Harry said. "Certain spells are easier with my walking stick, but that's only because the spells are geared to the elements within it. My other wand is good for some other spells and because it has a Phoenix tail feather core it augments the fire spells I do with my other wand at the same time. It's also easier to use my primary learning wand for minor healing spells."

(…I hear another snake nearby…) Tertia said. All heads were awake and anxious to explore the forest. Harry had put her down as soon as they were heading in a particular direction. She slithered in the direction that she had heard the other snake's hisses.

(…Go away…) The voice hissed. (…Leave my nest alone…) The cry was plaintive.

(…Calm down you silly nitwit…) Tertia hissed at the voice. (…Why'd you nest so close to the school? You had to know that the big ones would show up here…)

(…I was about to burst from the number of eggs I laid…) The nesting snake replied. (…I don't know why I laid so many. They're not all going to survive…)

(…That's true…) Harry hissed and his little familiar agreed. (…Do you want me to take a few of the eggs away? Humans can use the unwanted ones in the healing potions…)

(…Would they stop coming here?...) Asked the nesting mother serpent.

(…I'm sorry…) He said, not approaching until his familiar could explain their purpose for showing up.

The three heads were all awake at the same time and so she moved closer to the other female and said (…We came here to move your nest and you. We have a better place for you to go…)

(…Where?...)

Tertia asked her human and when the location was explained the ashwinder was interested in it. However she was hesitant because she couldn't see who was speaking to her, she was assuming that there were two snakes nearby and not a human and a snake.

(…Look we promise not to hurt your eggs. They will be carefully transported in this…) Harry pointed out the crate that he had chilled for the eggs. (…I spelled it to maintain a frosty temperature, until we can reach another copse of Burning Maple Bushes…)

(…You froze it!!!...) The ashwinder exclaimed.

(…NO…) He shouted at her through the panic that he could sense rising. (…I spelled it so that it was close to the same temperature as a frosty morning. You know when the plants are coated with a film of chill only, where there's no harm to the plants...)

(…Yessss…) She replied.

(…It will be the same for your eggs…) He clarified. (…Their outside shell needs to be chilled so that we may safely transport them without starting a fire in this forest. The inside will be completely unharmed. I promise…)

The female ashwinder slithered from the entrance of her nest and noticed the tiny two-legged creature with the familiar huge one just behind him. She was looking around for the other snakes and saw the Coral Runespoor nearby. (…Where's the other like us?...) She asked Tertia.

Tertia was slightly confused until she realized that the ashwinder was talking about her human. It tickled her and it was funny, so she was laughing. (…There's no other…) She hissed her laughter.

The ashwinder was slightly irked at being laughed at, when Harry said, (…I'm the other that spoke to you…)

(…You're a two-legged speaker…) She said feeling extremely shocked. Harry nodded his head in a movement that was universally accepted by the snakes. Up and down for yes, side to side for no. (…He's a speaker…) She was still shocked.

Tertia was giggling and nodding at the same time. (…Yes…) She said. (…He's my human Master and he's very nice. He would not lie to you because there's no reason to lie…)

(…All right…) The ashwinder said. (…I'll agree to the move…)

She watched the runspoor's human charm all of her eggs and then watched how he carefully used his magic to move the chilled eggs into the chilled box. It was only when all of her eggs were moved that she even considered going into the magical snake-wrangling sack.

It took them about an hour to walk to the new location and they released her first in order for her to scan for a suitable place for her eggs. She allowed Harry to '_freeze_' ten random eggs. (…I don't know why I laid so many, but these ten are for your use. I can not raise them and the rest will have to fend as is the law of survival. Without these extras, I know that the rest will have a better chance. Thank you two-legs and thank your large friend…)

(…I will…) Harry said. He gathered the frozen eggs in a '_glacial_' jar and made sure that the lid was secure. "She said to tell you, Thank you, Hagrid."

"Tell 'er she's verra welcome," the half-giant replied. Hagrid then suggested that Harry might want to give a couple to the Potions Professor when they got back. "I've a feelin' tha' he'd be a might upset tha' I didna' bring 'im somethin' from the Forest."

"Why?" Harry was curious.

"I usually bring him somewhat from here," Hagrid said. "Ashwinder eggs are mighty 'spensive ta buy and mighty 'ard ta find in the Forest."

"All right," the boy said. They quickly made their way back to Hagrid's Hut in order to prepare tea together. Harry popped his _Arca_ open in order pull out another, smaller, glacial jar and placed four of the ashwinder eggs in it. "I can't wait to see the school's reaction when I give them to him in the Great Hall."

Hagrid chuckled, knowing that it would cause for an interesting flow in the school's conversation for the evening. He then showed him a few recipes and explained a few things about the '_Rock-Cakes_' that he made. "I knows tha' full humans canna' eat 'em like I do, but I need ta 'ave 'em else my teeth get too long."

"Is that because you're a half-giant?" Harry asked him.

"Ye guessed tha' about me, did ya?" The large man asked with a smile at the boy's intelligence.

"It's pretty obvious. You are taller then everyone else in the school, that I know of," Harry said. He heard the knock at the door and went to answer it. "Will you tell me about it someday?"

"O' course, 'Arry," Hagrid said. "Anytime… Now whyn't ye let yer friend in and we'll all 'ave a nice cuppa?"

Harry let Ron in and soon they were having a merry conversation about this and that. Ron told Harry about learning how to play muggle football and how it was right strange not to be on a broom to do it, but that it was fun to run around. Hagrid and Ron told Harry more about the Wizarding Sport called '_Quidditch_' and he explained that muggles don't fly on brooms.

He then told them about the differently types of sports with balls that muggles had invented. They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the differences, until it was nearing the evening meal at the school.

Harry made sure that he was wearing his protective gloves before taking hold of the jar. He hoped that the Potions Master had his on him, but then again the man was a full Wizard and probably had another way to carry a '_glacial_' jar.

"Harry, what's that for?" Ron asked.

"Mischief," Harry replied with an impish twinkle in his eyes. "You'll see."

The Great Hall was ready for the evening meal and as there were no announcements, the students were free to come and go within a certain time frame. The Hall meals were set up so that there was always something for the students to snack on in order to keep up their energy for the spells they do and the magic they use.

It was no surprise to find the students wandering in, but it was certainly a surprised Potions Master who received the small jar of four ashwinder eggs. "Here," Harry said. "They're from the Forest. Hagrid told me to give them to you."

Snape frowned wondering what could be in the glacial jar. So he raised an eyebrow at the presumptuous Gryffindor. Until his eyes widened at the same time as all the other professors nearby and the students closest to heard what the silly Gryff had to say.

"Ashwinder eggs," Harry explained and then added. "I'd like my jar back when you're done with it." He left the mix of students and teachers with a grin on his face because of their stunned expressions.

Severus was wondering whether that was a prank or not, but he wasn't one to take the chance. He let the jar sit there. Soon realized that it was truly a real glacial jar and not some fake, he didn't bother to finish his meal. He levitated the jar and headed towards his rooms in order to transfer the precious eggs into his own glacial jar with the only two other ashwinder eggs that he had.

Harry returned to his seat to have his supper, all the while loving the reactions from everyone around the Professor. He was especially pleased by the weird looks on many of the Slytherins' faces. There were whispers in the Hall about how and why the Boy-Who-Lived would give something like that to the Head of Slytherin House. However the Ravenclaws loudly stated that it was logical to do so because as a first year, Harry would not know what to do with such items and that the Slytherin Head of House was a renowned Potions Master. Of course the man should get the eggs from the Forbidden Forest.

Everyone was wondering what else could be going on, but the Headmaster only twinkled his blue eyes over the students, please to see that some of the third Ravenclaws were arguing with the four year Slytherins and fifth year Hufflepuffs. It seems that the learning birds of the school were eager to point out a few things that only made too much sense and made them win their point of view.

-----

After that stirring event the school quieted down for a bit, until the first year students had their first flying lesson. It was Slytherins and Gryffindors together again. Neville broke his wrist and Harry out flew Malfoy for Neville's '_Remembrall_.' McGonangall caught him flying.

However she was beside herself with finding a proper Seeker for the Gryffindor team that she requested that Harry be allowed to get his own broom for it. He needed to purchase his own equipment too, so Hagrid volunteered to take the boy to Diagon Alley in order to get them.

Professor Snape wasn't pleased with that, but if it had happened where one of his own Slytherin's, were to ever show such a talent he would hope to be able to do the same. He even told the faculty so and they agreed, that should that _ever_ happen, Harry's precedent was set for future students with a similar talent.

Then the Headmaster crashed Severus' day. "I trust that you will be able to join them on their outing Severus?"

"Why would I want to do that, Headmaster?" He asked in a sneering tone.

"We have word that an order of potions ingredients has arrived for your older students," Albus Dumbledore said. "I just thought that you'd like to pick it up so that you may inspect it before bringing them back with you. I know that you were upset by their last shipment."

"Would you be pleased if you were promised fresh ingredients only to receive a shipment of overripe baby pear-apples and fungus invested Doxie wings?" The Potions Master ground out. "That was a poorly handled shipment and you know it Albus."

"That's why I suggested that you go this time to inspect it personally," the headmaster said looking over his moon shaped spectacles, his eyes twinkling with inner mischief. "Please be sure to pick these up for me," he said handing the irritated man a tiny list of one item.

*_10 Bags of Sherbet Lemon Drops*_

Severus groaned, but nodded his head. He didn't dare show the list to any of the other professors and he glared at the rest, daring them to give him anything that resembled a list to purchase items for them.

-----

Harry made sure that his replies to Gringotts were clear and concise. They knew that he couldn't see them, but he then told them that he would be in to purchase equipment for his place on the House team. They congratulated him and made sure that they had the appointment set up for him.

-----

Severus was told to meet them a Florian's after he had finished his purchases. The Potions Master wasn't pleased to have to go into the muggle world, but he hoped that he could con the boy into doing so for him.

Unfortunately the boy was a strong negotiator. "I'll agree, but if I go into the muggle world, I'd like to be able to visit a couple of book stores and a toy store."

"Don't you have enough toys at your home Potter?" Snape asked.

"I want to get a couple of muggle board games that I'm having a hard time explaining to Ron and some of the others in my House," Harry said. "It won't take long because the Sherbet Lemons can be purchased in another store near it."

"'Arry, do ye mind goin' with the Prof'essor?" Hagrid said looking into the Leaky Cauldron with longing. "I'd kinda like ta… well now ye know."

Harry smiled. "I don't mind, if the Professor doesn't."

The potions master looked from one to the other. He heaved a sigh to indicate his suffering of the situation, but he nodded. "Very well, but I don't expect you to dawdle there, Mr. Potter."

"I won't," the boy agreed. "I have my list. We'll have to cab to the shop I need to go to for the books, but the rest can be bought on the same street as the Leaky Cauldron."

The two left Hagrid to his socializing and drink, while Harry convinced the professor to fix his clothing to match his. He did point out a men's clothing store that had trench coats for the "well-dressed" gentleman. He told Harry to wait a moment then he stepped into the alley and matched the clothing, only with a better quality fabric that way the store wouldn't think that he had stolen them. Harry voiced his approval while the Potions Master frowned at the boy.

Harry smiled impishly, but quietly hailed a cab that would take them to the bookstore where Crasgrasp confirmed that there were two of the books that he was looking for. He also cautioned Harry about the place, but when he mentioned that his potions professor was joining them, the goblin expressed his relief. He explained to the boy that there was a possibility that they shop keeper would not take his interest seriously, but with that man there it should turn out just fine.

Crasgrasp was right to be concerned, but Harry shocked the shop-keeper and his own professor at expressing a deep interest and an educated knowledge about the books that the man was supposed to have for '_Serious Collectors Only_'.

"Very well young man," the shop owner said. "It's seems that I have misjudged you. It's so rare to see youngster without those blasted ear things or any of those hand held games."

"I was never permitted such and therefore had time to round out my education," Harry stated in a snooty high class tone. This was what got the man attention and why he begin to respect to boy slightly. However the Boy-Who-Lived was only putting forward a perfect imitation of Draco Malfoy and the Head of Slytherin House was shocked because of it.

"I thank you for your time. I have people looking for specific works for me and they were the ones that led me to your establishment. I hope that the next time I will be taken more seriously than our unfortunate initial encounter."

"Of course young man," the shop owner said. "If your people are having difficulties finding the works you're looking for, please give my shop a thought. We wouldn't hesitate to carry out your request, in these matters."

Harry initially frowned, but then thought about those that collected for the sake of collecting rare items for no other purpose then to covet them. Some of those people never read the works, which is a thought that saddened him from time to time whenever it occurred to him.

"I will keep you in mind," Harry said without commitment. The shop-keeper bowed at that and watched as the two customers left his store. The boy broke out into a grin and walked into the alley asking his professor to wait a moment.

He was still grinning when he took his _Arca_ out of his pocket and quickly stored his purchases. He did notice that his professor was observing his actions, but never mentioned it. He was only hoping that the man wouldn't think that he was doing magic in a muggle environment, but he didn't care.

Harry flagged another taxi and they were back on the street near the Leaky Cauldron. Harry had the cabbie stop a couple of blocks away, so that they could walk down the street.

"Why are you so happy, Mr. Potter?" Snape had to finally ask.

Harry turned to the man, still with a happy smile and said truthfully. "I was never taken to visit stores for things. I'm glad that I had a chance today. I'm also glad that you were there. It's usually less intimidating when there's adult around to look out for you. Thank you Professor."

Severus was stumped again by the Boy-Who-Lived. "Your welcome," he said and then he frowned a the small market store. "Must we go in here?"

"Yes," the boy said. "This is one of the places to get the Sherbet Lemons on the Headmaster's list. You did say that he wanted ten bags. This place is the best for them."

They quickly gathered the candy, but Harry was surprised that the Professor was wondering if the news in the muggle world was just as badly done as the Daily Prophet. Harry pointed that the magazines in the racks near the counters that they pay for the food were only for entertainment.

"Not many people take them seriously," he explained. He took the man to another rack of magazines and newspapers and showed him which ones were the better for specific news. "_The Times_ is best for general world news, usually serious stuff. _National Geographic_ I find interesting because it tells stories or news of a different sort, from history to discoveries around the world. _Science Today_ has to do the developing sciences in the world and then as you can see there are different categories for special interest like astronomy or marine biology."

Severus was interested in many of them. He looked to the boy and noticed that Harry was watching him with curiosity. "Isn't there something similar where you come from?" Harry asked.

It was a very Slytherin like question, implying that the man came from another country. "Not so much," the Professor confirmed. "Do you think that I might…That you might…"

"Anything you want," Harry said. "We can take care of the rest later. Pick out whatever you want."

Severus grabbed many that caught his interest. "Didn't you mention that there was bookshop near the tavern?"

"Yes," the boy confirmed. "It's a used bookshop." He paused a moment to think about it and then said, "Pick out all of the ones you're interested and maybe we'll get lucky and find some back issues of those at the other book shop."

"Thank you," the dark haired man said. "Potter…"

"Don't Professor," Harry said. "If you've never read these, then I don't mind getting them now. We'll settle up later." Severus was relieved because it almost felt like charity or worse pity, especially if the boy was ready to pay for all of this without expecting something in return.

'_There's no way that I could accept such an arrangement,_' he thought. '_All though that would be the most Slytherin thing to do and the Gryffindor in him should be giving without expecting payment._' He looked sharply at the boy, seeking out the sharpened mind, but the boy seemed almost guileless.

Harry had an idea of what his potions professor was thinking, but to throw him off he sent him a mischievous grin and asked, "Are you sure that you have everything you want?"

"Brat," he replied in a somewhat gruff, but amused tone. Harry didn't take it the wrong way, although he knew that there will come a time that he will have too.

"I know," he said tugging on one of the magazine laden arms. "Come on, we still have to go to the toy store."

"Wait a moment," Snap paused in front of some of the logic puzzles and crossword puzzles. "I would like to get a few of these." He looked at his arms and then looked at the boy.

Harry just nodded and picked up quite a few of the crosswords, word searches, logic puzzles and several books that contained a mix of various mind puzzles. "Come on," he said. "There might be more at the book store next to the tavern."

They paid for the magazines and Professor Snape shrank them, as soon as they were out of sight from any muggles. They quickly finished the rest of Harry's errands in the toy shop and picked a whole slew of back issues and some muggle books for the professor. He picked them out on Harry's recommendation, plus upon revealing the types of books that he considered interesting.

"I'm not looking for history or fantasy, but something that might stimulate my mind or maybe give me another perspective on some things," he told Harry and the clerk that offered to help them out.

Harry suggested a few murder mysteries and true crime books from the turn of the century. The reason for that was that was what he could, sort of, see about the Wizarding World. They looked like they were trapped in that era, but he didn't care.

"Brother Cadfael ones," he told the clerk shrugging at them. "Maybe one or two of the better Sherlocks, Perry Mason or Miss Marple. Don't get him anything with gore and violence, but maybe a something from Kathy Reichts. Do you kind of understand?"

"Yep," the clerk said. "You want I should just go get them?"

"Please," Harry told him before his professor could snap at the poor man for his bad diction. "Don't," he whispered. "That's how they talk, let the man do his job."

"Very well Potter," Severus sighed, waiting at the counter.

The man came back with about twenty or so books, some of which were short story anthologies with the same theme. Unknown to either of the men there was one anthology on what the muggles consider Dragon Tales. Still they didn't notice and Harry paid for the purchase.

They both met up with Hagrid and shortly after they were able to tear him away from the poker table after he had won a very special prize. Not that he was going to mention it to either of them. '_Not jus' yet,_' he thought.

Returning back to the school was nothing special and their lives carried on. With the exception that now Severus Snape owed Harry Potter something. Harry didn't want money, but he did call for an '_Undisclosed Favour_' for a late date.

"Don't worry about it Professor," he told the man after they were on school grounds, but still out of earshot from the rest of the school's population. "It won't cost you a thing."

"That's what I'm afraid of," he mumbled while Hagrid was listening. Harry giggled and ran back to the school ahead of his professor and magical guardian.

Hagrid looked at the greasy haired man and said, "You look right nice this evening, Professor." He looked back to his excited magical ward. "Don't you worry none, 'Arry isn't 'is father. A little tyke like 'im, didna' even 'ave a chance to know 'im. See ya around Pro'fessor."

"Evening, Hagrid," Snape replied with a nod. He strode into the school not noticing the looks he was receiving all because he was wearing an impressive muggle business suit and a dark trench coat.

----------------------

**TBC…**


	7. Chapter 6

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

----------------------

Chapter Six

----------------------

**Year 1 – Part two of…?**

The whole of Harry becoming a Quidditch team member was kept secret. Although he did have a disturbing confrontation with Malfoy about the whole issue, seems that jealousy is rampant in the Slytherins.

"You should have been expelled, Potter," Malfoy spat out one evening when Harry and his friend had bumped into the Slytherins rounding a corner in the halls.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't do for the Boy-Who-Lived to be expelled from school," Harry said flippantly. "What would the Wizarding World have to say about that? We are here to be taught, although it looks like you could use a refresher course in how to fly."

"You're a disgrace to the name of Wizard," Malfoy said in a condescending tone. "You'll pay for insult. I challenge you to a duel, wands only, midnight tonight."

Harry snorted and just looked at the blond brat.

"Don't know anything about dueling do you Potter?" Malfoy said giving them a nasty smirky grin. Ron was angry on Harry's be-half and was about to say something about it, but Harry cut him off.

"It's obvious that _you_ know nothing about dueling. First of all when someone issues the challenge, they are **not** the one to decide the terms or the choice of weapons. Therefore _you_ cannot be the one to choose wands because I happen to know that we have not been taught enough spells to duel with them. However, I accept your challenge, but I choose… hand-to-hand combat until first knock out. It cannot take place at midnight, as you know all formal or informal duels need a neutral judge or arbiter. I suggest Professor Quirrell, come on I think he's free now, if you'd like to get this over with."

"Are you out of your bloody mind Potter?" Malfoy asked. "How would you know anything about dueling in the first place?"

"I read it in '_Master Mallalinski's Rules of Dueling for the Civilized Gentleman_', where else?" Harry asked. "It contains all the rules to a duel right down to the timing, how to stand and about having a judge present in order for the results duel to be recorded. It also had a comprehensive section about challenging, accepting challenges and how terms are _supposed_ to be set."

Ron was looking at him like he had never seen Harry before, while Malfoy was standing there gape-mouthed. His two goons were looking back and forth between the two. "Well?" Harry prodded. "What's it going to be?"

"I refuse to duel like a thug," Malfoy said petulantly because he didn't know how to fight with his hands only.

"Then there is no further point to this," Harry said. He turned around and said, "Come on Ron, let's go another way in order to get to supper."

"You're a coward Potter," Malfoy shouted.

"I'm not the one who issued a challenge and then retracted it Malfoy," Harry said walking away from the fuming blond. He whispered to his friend while grinning wickedly, "I bet he's royally pissed off now. This year's not turning out as bad as I thought it would be."

Ron looked at him and then he let out a laugh. "You're too much Harry. Come on we don't want to miss the meal." They walked quickly away from the Slytherins.

While they were in the Great Hall a certain nosy, busy body, know-it-all had heard the rumour that the boys almost had a duel in the halls. She tried to tell them that dueling was against the school rules, but they both told her that it wasn't any of her business.

"Look you," Harry said. "Why are you even sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong?" Ron nodded his agreement.

She just said, "I'm concerned about this House and the reputation that it would get if you went about dueling and losing points for it."

Harry shook his head. "Why are you even bothering us about this? You're not even a Prefect or a teacher and if you got your nose out of the books you'd realize that we _didn't_ get in trouble and we _didn't_ lose points."

"Well you could have and you…" she began.

"Would you listen to _her_?" Ron said to Harry and the others that were listening on their conversation. "Pay attention you nit. The two of us are not the only students in this House, so why are you just talking to us or showing us _your_ disapproval, like we even need your approval for anything. If you had any true concerns, you'd have told one of the Prefects or our Head of House, as it is you're butting where your input is not wanted. Leave us alone."

Her face fell and she was truly upset by it, but many of the other first and second years did notice these very same characteristics about Hermione that they didn't like. She was too pushy and was trying too hard to prove herself. She needed the telling off because it was truly not her business, as she wasn't even a witness to that altercation.

She turned up her nose at them in order to pretend that she was unaffected. Then she returned to her book and pretended to read, but instead was thinking about what they had said to her. It was definitely not something that she had expected from them. It seemed like she was guilty of judging before thinking, just like the Sorting Hat had mentioned on their first day here.

A few days later the boys were in the Gryffindor common room while Ron was teaching Harry to play '_wizard's chess_'. Hermione was watching the pieces move about the board and so were a few others of muggle descent. They thought it was cool, until they all jumped because they were startled when Ron's knight smashed one of Harry's pawns with the javelin that it carried.

"That's totally barbaric," she exclaimed.

"Not more so then the computer generated ones that my cousin has," Harry said. "His were more interesting because of the possible boards that you could select. You could even choose pieces that looked like elves, dwarves, orcs, hobgoblins, magicians or even '_Star Trek_' theme with different ships and species, like the Klingons and Ferengi. It also had a graphic violence selector where you could select the damages to show up like coloured blood spurting everywhere and you could even have it stain the board if you wanted to."

"You're going to have to explain that one to us mate," Ron said.

"I can't," Harry said. "You have to have been exposed to those references in order to understand them, but I'll see if I can pick up some image books during the Yule Holidays. If I can, I'll bring them back for you to see the things that I'm talking about."

"You're not signing up to stay over the holidays," Ron asked.

"No," Harry confirmed. "Why would I need to?"

"I don't know," Ron said. "I just thought that you wouldn't want to go back to your muggle relatives."

"Why would you think that?" Harry asked.

Ron blinked and realized that he was about to reveal something that he didn't want known. "Sorry, my mistake, I just thought that you didn't like them."

"I don't," Harry confirmed. "That doesn't mean I want to stay here. I can't get out to go shopping or visit anyplace other then the school and its grounds. I'd rather go back so that I can at least go into the city. Maybe catch a couple of new movies that might have come out since I've been here."

That statement had many of the muggle-born and muggle-raised wishing the exact same thing. A discussion was raised among some of the other students about it and what they were looking forward to seeing what new releases were out.

The two boys were left to continue on with their game in peace.

-----

October thirty first they were all enjoying their lessons in Charms Class with Professor Flitwick. He was an amusing fellow because he had to stand on a stack of books in order to see his entire class.

The first years were practicing the levitation charm. Harry knew that enunciation was important, but when all of the other students began, he deliberately botched it up to match the others in the room. Harry was partnered with Seamus. He had to be careful because Seamus was so enthusiastic about using his magic, but most times his spell casting exploded with a bang, black dust and burnt hair.

Ron was partnered with Hermione that day and he wasn't too pleased about it either. She was constantly trying to correct his arms movements or his diction. He was so annoyed he mainly glared at her, especially when she was able to levitate her feather first. He just looked pissed for the remainder of the class and completely ignored her comments about putting an emphasis on the '_win __**gar**__ dium_' and the '_levi __**o**__ sa_'.

After class they were all walking away and he was complaining about her, not realizing that she was just behind them. "Honestly," Ron mimicked her. "Its '_levi __**o**__ sa_' not '_levio __**sa**_'. She's a nightmare. No wonder no one wants to be her friend."

Upset about that, she ran forward, bumping into someone. It was Harry and he noticed that she had tears in her eyes, "She heard you."

"Doesn't matter," Ron said, but he felt bad about it anyway. The rest of the day was quiet in the classes because she wasn't in them. No one had seen or heard from her since Ron's unthinking comments after Charms class.

There was a rumor going around that she was still in the girls' loo crying her eyes out, but the boys were more interested in the Halloween feast. So they didn't bother get someone to check on her. It seems that she had even alienated her own dorm-mates because they never looked in on her.

Everyone was enjoying the feast when Professor Quirrell came running into the middle of the Great Hall, yelling, _**"Troll." He shuddered and said once more, "There's a troll… In the dungeon… Thought you ought to know…"**_

He promptly fainted. Everyone from the first years to seventh, all began to panic. The Headmaster quickly set things to order and told all of the Prefects to direct the students back to their common rooms. All the students were walking, but Harry pulled at Ron and told him that Hermione didn't know.

Ron, feeling bad that she might have been put in danger, came right away and both boys had their little adventure of tangling with a huge mountain troll. It was one of the ugliest things that Harry had ever seen. He was truly grossed out that his primary went up the monster's nose during the time he was hanging from its back.

At least Ron was able to successfully cast the levitation spell and knock it out with its own weapon. "Cool," was all that came out of his mouth when it happened.

They were caught, _of course_, and Harry noticed then that Professor Snape's leg was bleeding. He wondered why that could be. However before he could voice his concern, Professor McGonagall took away five points for Hermione's stupidity and gave back ten for, '_**Sheer dumb luck**_.'

The three of them walked back to the common room of Gryffindor Tower and from then on they were considered the tightest of friends. It was Hermione's wish to get to know the Boy-Who-Lived and the red-haired boy, even though they were kind of mean earlier that day. She could understand some things, but she was still a stickler for rules. However, with their friendship she learned to relax voicing it so often.

-----

There was another memorable incident when they were late returning back to their common room after spending some time with Hagrid in the evening. They were all three of them too busy to notice that the stairs were moving and moving in the direction of the third floor.

Once they got there they were surprised to find themselves on the floor that promised them a '_**most painful death**_', but being Gryffindors they were curious about the corridor. Their exploration was interrupted by the caretaker's cat named Mrs. Norris.

Knowing that, if they were caught, they would be in trouble for just being there, they ran. So they ran towards the end of the long corridor. At the end of the corridor there was a locked door, but Hermione being the bright one among the three, shouted out '_Alohamora_'.

The door's lock clicked and they were able to get into the room at the end. "Well that's a relief," Ron said. "I thought that the door was locked."

"It was locked," Hermione said disdainfully.

Harry was facing the reason, as to _why_ that door was locked and he voiced his concern. "For good reason," he told them.

In front of him was the biggest three-headed dog that he had ever seen, but knowing what Hagrid had told him about the trick to getting close to any creature was knowing how to calm it. Harry was able to use what he had read about this particular breed of dog. He thought back quickly to the time that he had seen his magical guardian put Fang to sleep by playing a little tune.

Luckily Hermione and Ron were quiet at the moment, but Harry re-enforced by saying, "Don't say a word and _don't_ panic or you'll blow this."

The dog was awake, but it smelled Hagrid on the children, mainly around the green-eyed boy that had taken a step forward. "You two better not say a word about this," he told his friends. He used a cutting motion at the throat in order to get them to be quiet.

"Ave Maria…" he began to sing in a soft gentle tone. Ron and Hermione were wide eyed at the fact that he was singing in tune and in another language.

Harry's voice rose and fell in time to an invisible beat, but the three-headed dog's six eyes were blinking, as though it was tired. He continued to sing until the dog was fast asleep and he was backing out of the door, after the other two were out of the room. They didn't slam the door, but Hermione re-cast a locking spell on it.

Looking down the corridor they noticed that Mrs. Norris was no longer there and quickly they left that area, returning to their common room. "What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked.

"A three-headed dog," Harry said.

"I _know_ that," said Ron. "I _could __**see**_ that. What I meant is the singing? Where did you learn to sing like that?"

Harry paused a moment and pretended to look embarrassed, but they fell for the act. This was the first conscious lie he was going to tell his friends. "Church," he told them. "My aunt wanted me and my cousin in the choir. She said that we had to be model citizens of the community or some such crap. We stopped going when Dudley was ten because he was bored and didn't want to go anymore. He put up such a fuss that in the end it was better to stop altogether."

"Do you still sing in the choir?" Hermione asked.

"Are you daft?" Harry said. "I'm not ever going back to a bloody church. It was awful."

"But you sing so well," Hermione tried to tell him.

"I don't care about that," Harry said. "I'm not going to make a fool of myself because of it. You better not tell anyone about that because if I get hounded I'll know just who to blame."

"We're not going to tell anyone," Ron said, looking at Hermione. She hasn't been their friend for long, but he at least thought that she'd been paying attention. "Harry doesn't like people talking about him or staring, what do you think knowing about this would do?"

"Oh," she said in a contrite tone. She had noticed something like that, but was going to think on it later. "I'm sorry. It's just that you sing so well. You do know that when boys hit puberty their voices will change. I'm only going to suggest one thing before dropping it," she said looking at them. "Record your singing voice now, so that later in life you'll remember how it felt to be singing with purity and beauty."

It was almost a prophetic thing for her to say. Harry frowned and did understand what she meant by it. "I'll think about it," he said. "You're never to bring this up again."

"You got it," Ron said.

"All right, Harry," she said. To change the subject she asked, "Did you two notice what that dog was standing on?"

"I wasn't looking at its feet," Ron said. "I was looking at its heads."

Harry didn't make any other comment other than to agree with Ron. Hermione continued, "It was standing on a trap door, which means that it was guarding something. It must be awfully important for that kind of dog to be in the school."

"You guys," Harry said. "I bet this has something to do with that break in at Gringotts." They looked at him like he was daft, but he needed to make them understand. "Remember at the beginning of the year there was some to-do about one of the vaults being broken into, but nothing had been stolen because the vault had been emptied earlier that same day."

"Yes, I remember," Ron said. "You were surprised by it. Why?"

"Hagrid brought me to Diagon Alley," Harry said. "That day he was there to bring me to get my stuff for school, but he also said that he had to pick up something for Hogwarts and that it was very secret. I'm guessing that whatever that he had to pick up for the school is exactly what that dog is guarding."

"Must be something big," Ron said.

"Don't be silly," Hermione said. "It's often the little things that can cause the most damage."

Harry nodded. They returned to their rooms for another night.

-----

A couple of weeks later it was time for Harry's first Quidditch game. Most of the Gryffindors had already suspected that he had become a member of the team, but none of them said a word about it. Hermione and Ron knew because he told them about it. They were questioning why he wasn't around on certain nights and that's when he told them.

"Special consideration," he said. "How do you think I was able to get those board games? I had to go and pick up my equipment."

"That's why you've been exempted from the flying lessons," Hermione said. "That's just not fair."

"No one ever said that life was fair," Harry said. "Well I've got to go get ready for the game. See you later."

It was much later when Harry was having difficulties with his broom in the middle of the game that he had cast a couple of elemental spells without pulling out his walking stick. He wasn't as unobservant as some may have credited with.

He knew just who was casting a curse and why. Before Hermione could figure it out he called fourth a rain cloud to drench the teachers' box. He even called fourth a small bolt of bright white lightning that was sure to temporarily blind the man casting the curse or hex and the lightning worked.

He got back on his broom and saved the day. Unfortunately, Hermione did see that Professor Snape muttering and maintaining eye contact with Harry's broom. She didn't see anyone else and now they had to play at suspecting the greasy haired man of wanting to cause harm to the Gryffindor Seeker. Harry was the only one that played along, but the other two truly believed that the professor was out to get the Boy-Who-Lived.

The only comment that the Headmaster said about the cloud and lightning was, "Strange weather always happens. Sometimes it usually occurs in areas were there is a high concentration of magic. You cannot deny that the young ones do put out a lot of magical energy."

The other teachers were skeptical about it, but kept their opinion to themselves. It has been known to happen, but that was usually in unpopulated areas, never at the school.

Harry was lucky that no one caught him doing that. Then he looked over at Hagrid and knew that he had been caught. Once the players had landed and changed, the large man met him.

"Come 'n 'ave a cuppa 'afore ye go 'n celebrate," he said. Harry nodded. It wasn't like they were going to miss him too much, but just in case he sent a '_will-o-whisper_' charm up to the Gryffindor common room.

If any one asked about his whereabouts, it would whisper that it had heard he was in another location of the common room or someplace else in the school. Basically causing whoever was looking for him to look elsewhere, like the library, the Great Hall, a corridor here or a hallway there and then it would lead them back to the common room.

It wasn't a common charm, but he was glad that he knew about it. As soon as it was cast, he walked with Hagrid to his hut and they had a talk. "What were ye thinkin' usin' those spells on the teacher's box," Hagrid said.

"I had to get the Professor to stop cursing my broom," Harry said. "It was getting too dangerous and I was afraid that it was going to buck me off."

"Who was casting a curse at ye?" Hagrid asked.

"I'm not too sure, but I promise that what I did didn't cause any permanent harm," Harry said. "I just made sure that they couldn't keep a steady eye in order to continue casting the curse. I'm sorry if I disappointed you."

Hagrid looked at the boy and said, "I'm not disappointed. Not exactly, I'm jus' worried for ye is all." He took a large sip of tea from his tankard sized mug. "I don't want ye ta show yer skills if 'n ye aren't ready ta explain why ye 'ave 'em or need ta learn 'em."

"Thank you, Hagrid," Harry said. "Did you enjoy the game?"

"Did I?" The half-giant said. "O' course I did. I 'ad me a bet with Crasgrasp about it. I told 'im tha' I knew ye'd win 'n he wasn't too sure, knowin' as 'ow the Slytherins like ta play a bit rough. But I told 'im, 'Arry was born ta fly 'n that ye'd win it the game."

"How did you…"

"Saw ye," Hagrid said. "Saw ye on yer firs' day o' flyin' lessons. I even saw Professor McGonagall come for ye, but I wasn't worried about tha'. I knew she'd see ye fer the Seeker ye are."

Harry smiled at him and thanked him. They spent a few more minutes of chatting when Hagrid brought up the Yule Holidays. "I know tha' ye didna' sign on ta stay 'ere. So what are ye plannin' fer the 'olidays 'n do I need ta pick ye up at the station," Hagrid said.

"I'd like it if you could pick me up at the station, but I could also take a cab to the Leaky Cauldron and meet you there," Harry said. "It would allow me time to sell my Christmas jewelry pieces to the street vendors on the way. I promise not to get out of the cab. I have only two people that I drop them off to anyway. They take care of seeing that everyone under them gets an equal amount. Besides most of the vendors like to specialize, like one will sell only rings and another will only sell necklaces."

"All right, 'Arry," Hagrid said. "I'll meet ye at the Leaky. Do ye need ta go ta Gringotts?"

"I'll have to in order to deposit the money," Harry said. "I need to confirm a couple of things with Crasgrasp in person."

Pausing to take a sip of his own tea, Harry told his magical guardian about spontaneously inviting Professor Snape over during the Yule Holidays. "He expressed an interest in a book that I had found," he explained. "I took your advice about judging someone for myself and made a quick decision to trust him. So I need to set up a way for him to get my house. I hope that he does come over, I'd like to be able to get to his help to earn some red-fruit from the blue fig trees."

"Harry," the large man called his attention. "Ye know tha' can only be given in exchange fer something else."

"I know," Harry said. "Hermione told me that my singing voice at the moment was very nice and that I should record a few songs anyhow. I know that the winter fairies like songs, so I was hoping to offer up three songs to them in their grove in order to get the Winter Blessing for the property, lands and occupants."

Hagrid paused at that and thought about it. '_Harry's right,_' he thought. '_It's important that he get the fairy 'Seasonal Blessings' for his first year of living on that land. It's even better if there are guests living there at the time of the Blessings, but it works best if he's sincerely thankful for their presence._'

Harry had a good idea of what Hagrid was thinking, but knew that the half-giant didn't have anything to worry about. He would be truly thankful if his professor decided to show up for the Yule Holidays. He even had the wording prepared, just in case.

"I was thinking of inviting him to come over the day after Christmas and maybe for a few extra days," he said. "I figure that he has plans for the days before Christmas and for the day itself. I told him that he has to take an Oath of Secrecy before coming. I'd also like you to visit too. Would you?"

"O' course, I'm comin'," Hagrid said. "Ye needn't worry on tha' score, I'll come whenever ye need me ta come."

"Thank you Hagrid you have an open invitation and you know that my house-elves would appreciate you and your appetite," he said with a little laugh, when the cuckoo clock sang the time. "Oh, I better be getting back to the tower."

"Off you go then," Hagrid said shooing the boy out of his Hut. He chuckled to himself and shook his head. He wondered what the Professor's reaction was to the invitation and he also wondered if Professor Snape was going to accept it.

-----

**The Yule Holidays**

The headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was surprised to see Harry pack up his things and set out with the rest of the students going home for the holidays. There was nothing that he could do to prevent it. '_Oh well,_' he thought. '_I'll send him the invisibility cloak any way. He will be needing it soon._'

Elsewhere, Ron was thanking his lucky stars that he didn't have to stay at school. His parents had decided to go to Romania to visit Charlie and they were taking all of their children with them. Otherwise he would have had to stay at the school in order to be there for Harry, not that Harry knew about that.

Hermoine was just as surprised that Harry was returning to the Dursleys from what she had heard about his treatment there. However she was more excited by the fact that she was going home too.

Professor Snape was in a quandary. He knew that Harry was sincere in his invitation, but he couldn't help feeling that it now had to do with paying back the books from their outing when they went to get the boy's Quidditch equipment. He didn't mind, but he was slightly leery about true motives. Still he did want a chance to a look through the Treatise book that the boy claims to own.

The last potions class, before the students were to travel for the winter holidays, Snape called out, "Mr. Potter, you will remain behind to defend your essay."

Ron glared at the man on Harry's behalf and Hermione frowned. Harry just nodded showing everyone in the class his resignation at having to stay behind. Malfoy always had a gleeful smirk when that occurred. It wasn't the first time that he had to stay behind to defend his essay.

Well that's what everyone thought, but truthfully the Potions Master was asking the boy to stay and discuss various other things, specifically muggle things. It's not that Harry knew all the answers, but he knew where to look for them.

The professor's questions were many and diverse. Sometimes the questions were simple and he could answer. Other times the questions were complicated and required in depth knowledge in the subject, like the muggle version of astronomy and calculating the distances of stars.

"Follow me," he said.

He led Harry up into his personal office, which was where they were able to have their conversations in peace. The potions professor was paranoid about spying spells with good reason. He didn't need anyone else nosing into his business. His office was set up for privacy and it was just as secure as Crasgrasp's office was at Gringotts.

Professor Snape was prepared to give his answer to the invite that he had received that first week of school, but first he said. "Have a seat, Potter." He looked at the boy he had gotten to know over the 'defending essays' meetings. "I have a few questions about your essay on the kind of worms for the _Glow_ potion," he started.

Harry smiled and then began to earnestly defend his choice of worms for the Glow potion. "Well, it depends entirely on how long you need this potion to last," he began. "I used several examples for uses of it in order to clarify why certain worms or larvae were better than others."

"Yes, but you barely mentioned the underwater cavern worms of the Adriatic Sea," the professor said. "Why didn't you?"

"Well you did tell me to limit my essays to the discussion at hand, plus you've also said that I was to only use the school's references for my potions essays," Harry told him. "If I put more into any of my essays, you did mention something about docking points for not being able to stay on point. Also, there's a limit to the resources in the school, so if any Ravenclaw or someone like Hermione were to sign them out, I'd be stuck."

The Potions Master raised an eyebrow at that. It was true that the school's resources were limited, but he didn't think that he had assigned the Glow potion research to any other class at the time.

Harry explained, "It was the fourth year Herbology students. Apparently Professor Sprout assigned them an argumentative essay choosing either the pro or con of using certain worms for fertilizers. Several of them were doing the extra credit question on naming twenty of the known worms that could affect plant life."

"Hmph," Severus grumped. "Very well then, you'd get full marks if I wasn't supposed to mark your work like I do."

Harry was familiar with this too. His professor had explained that how he was supposed to act because there were certain factions in the Wizarding World that were watching his every move. He couldn't afford to be _nice_ to the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry understood that and then he explained that he had thought that this would happen anyway. They agreed to keep up a front to the school and class for now. The professor was adamant that his private treatment, like right now would not be discovered. Should it become suspect, ever, the front will be all that there is and the meetings like this would diminish in frequency.

Smart as he was and learned as he was Harry understood the reasons. He didn't like them, but he fully understood the situation. All he told the man was, "I hope that it will only occur much later, like about four years later."

Severus just looked at him and replied, "I will happen when it happens."

There was still the lunch hour and the free afternoon for the first years. The other students still had classes to attend, but Harry was planning to go into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid this afternoon, so he asked, "Will that be all Professor?"

"I would like to accept that invitation that you had extended to me at the beginning of the year," the greasy haired man said quickly, not wanting the boy to change his mind.

"Really," Harry said excitedly. "That's great." Then he sat up to speak seriously. "Your Oath sir will require that anything you see, hear or anyone you meet or learn about will be kept to yourself. No form of communication will ever divulge what you may witness when you come to visit me this time or any other time for the remainder of your life. It must be a permanent Oath sir. I can not be constantly asking you to renew you Oath, should you decide to visit me in the future."

Severus was surprised at that, but then he thought that that would be acceptable. '_It would certainly help in the future, should we ever have to stop meeting like this,_' he thought. '_A permanent Oath, it's not like I had never taken one of those before, but…_'

He looked at the boy's earnest face and for some reason he couldn't deny him. He nodded and watched as Harry pulled out his wand and a blade. His eyes widened, "A blood-letting permanent Oath?"

"Yes sir," Harry said.

"How could you even know about that?"

"You wouldn't be the first one that I needed such an Oath from," Harry said. "Besides, a secondary component like the blood-letting will protect you from outside forces trying to gain this information from you by any means and that includes the use of mind magics or potions."

"I'm not one to repeat myself, Mr. Potter," he said.

Harry nodded and said, "You'll find out after you've taken the Oath."

Severus Snape sighed and then waved the boy to get on with it. "I, Harold James Potter, known as the Boy-Who-Lived, extract this Oath from…"

"Severus Salazar Snape"

"…in order to protect my secrets, my family, my properties, my lands, enforced by blood and a sworn magical Oath."

"I, Severus Salazar Snape, Potions Master for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, do swear by my blood and magic that I will endeavor to never reveal by word, sound or action of any kind, the secrets of family, properties or lands belonging to one Harold James Potter, Boy-Who-Lived. So mote it be."

Harry took his knife and made one small cut in each finger tip of Severus' wand hand and for good measure he did his opposite hand too. He made a similar cut in his own finger tips, mixed their blood and used his wand to heal them, stating the same key words to close the deal.

"I accept the Oath sworn to me by Severus Salazar Snape. So mote it be."

The power of the Oath was strong and Severus could see the magical bindings between the two of form. They sank into the skins of their finngers and became invisible. He looked to the boy, who just smiled back at him.

"Now you're protected," he said. "So am I. When would you like to visit me?"

"I have commitments until the twenty-sixth," Severus said. "I can come on that day."

"All right," Harry said. "How long do you plan to stay?"

At that question, Potions Master was surprised. "I wasn't planning to stay longer then the day. Did you wish me to remain longer?"

"Well I was just thinking that this would be a good opportunity to visit the town library and a few _other_ places," Harry said. "You had a lot of questions that I couldn't answer, but like I told you, I know where go to look for them."

Severus was excited at the prospect, but it never showed on his face. Harry continued on, "If you come on the twenty-sixth, why don't you plan to stay for five days until the thirty-first. That way if you have commitments for the New Year you'll have time to get to them."

"That is a very good idea, Mr. Potter," Severus told him. "I accept. Expect me early in the morning, as I would like the opportunity to browse through your library first."

"Come as early as you want Professor," Harry said. "I will send you a note to you via Gringotts in order to throw off any suspicions. I'll explain about knowing the Oath when you visit. Will that be acceptable?"

Harry was grinning impishly.

Severus nodded and allowed himself to give the boy a half-smile. It was wiped off just as quickly, but the boy had seen it. "Now get out of here," Severus barked at the youth.

Harry playing along, let out a tiny "Eep."

He scurried away quickly, running out of the Dungeons and headed towards Hagrids Hut laughing at the professor's actions. Once there, Hagrid made sure he was bundled up all nice and warm, before they went to take care of a few things in the Forest.

As a groundskeeper, Hagrid had a lot of knowledge that was very useful for Harry to know. He was planning to use some of that knowledge for his properties and it was good to know about these things in order to be able to direct his house-elves.

They looked at the different creatures that the half-giant cared for and monitored the growth. He explained to Harry how some animals had to be culled or else the Forest would be overrun with the creatures. He was a groundskeeper and he needed to keep the animals in balance with the existing Forest.

He turned the various compost piles and spread a bit of it over the winter plants. Harry trotted along beside him helping out and asking questions. When they were far enough away from the school Harry told him about his plans and how Professor had taken the Oath.

"He's coming on the twenty-sixth and staying for five days," he said excitedly. "I want to take him to a couple of muggle libraries and maybe to a planetarium for a day. He could ask his questions there."

"Ye seem ta be unnerstandin' the Professor," Hagrid commented.

"Yeah, well he's seems honestly curious about the muggle world," Harry said. "I want to set up a year subscriptions for the publications that he's interest in, but I don't know how."

"The goblins 'ill set that up fer ye," Hagrid said. "When we head back, ye jus' go on and pack yer stuff. Make sure tha' ye have them pieces fer yer street peoples. I'll be meetin' ye at the Leaky when yer done with tha'."

"Thank you Hagrid," Harry said. They finished later in the day, but this time he didn't meet up with Ron or Hermione. He was too excited about going home for Christmas for a real holiday this time.

He had plans to teach his house-elves how to read and write or to set up a head house-elf who has that kind of knowledge. He needed an intermediary from his home to the school. Plus he needed one that would look out for his other properties and the other house-elves.

He truly wanted to go shopping because he was planning to go buy a beginner science kit for Professor Snape, plus set up his subscriptions for the year. He needed to speak to Crasgrasp about his gift for Hagrid. He also wanted to go to the bank to ask about an easier way to get home. The Knightbus was a nightmare sometimes and he was sure that there had to be another way.

He wanted to speak to the shop owners about how to create voice recordings in the Wizarding World. He knew that there were recording studios in the muggle world that you could buy time and materials in order to record whatever you wanted, but that could be expensive.

He had a couple of gifts for all of his house-elves, none of which were the dreaded '_clothes_', but he hoped that they would like them. Most were learning toys, not cheap things, but definitely fun things.

Also he wanted to go back into his _Arca_ and finish a couple of the paintings that he was working on. They were fantasy type things that muggles sometime pay good money for, but he just enjoyed painting them. Most were landscapes of made up origin, but others were just impressions that he painted from feelings about certain things.

His drawings and paintings were beginning to gain colour, when he fully understood an emotion. He knew realistically that he would never truly understand all of the emotions that he would feel in his life, but the base ones like, happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, determination, etc… He could paint those.

He still wasn't permitted to use colour in his murals, but he was experimenting with making a few them related to the school. He needed to study the structure and be absolutely sure about the times and the dates before putting one up and entering it. Still going home would give him the time to paint a few in his shed near the house.

-----

The following day, Harry didn't have any troubles getting to the train or hailing a cab to take him a couple of extra places. He promised the man a good tip, if he did, and since the cab driver was looking for more funds because of the season he was happy to help the kid out.

He was impressed by the way the kid haggled for the prices, claiming materials and time went into the pieces. This was when Harry was hanging out of the rear window of the cab talking to the two main vendors of his jewelry.

The cabbie looked interested in two of the pieces. Matching necklaces of the 'friendship' variety, but they were made different from the normal types because it had a Christmas theme. There were a few of those, so Harry pulled out one set and gave it to the driver.

Together it was a two-tone silver Christmas tree with red and green gems forming round Christmas balls. He showed the man how it was put together and how looked when it came apart. Apart it still looked like a Christmas tree only smaller. Each had it's own look, but one was pale silver with red balls and the other was a darkish kind of silver with green balls.

The cabbie loved it and was happy to find such a unique piece for his twin daughters. He was slowly going out of his mind, trying to find the perfect gift for them. He was glad that he didn't turn down this fare. He could have because it was very near the end of his shift, but he hadn't and he was happy now because of it.

Harry exchanged the rest his pieces of semi-cheap jewelry with the main vendors and told them that there would be nothing else from him until the summer. They complained because his pieces still sold well and he just said, "It's better to deal with this in person. Besides I'll have a lot made by then. You guys are just lucky that I made these with Christmas themes. I might be able to get back for the Easter week, but I can not promise you guys anything solid in the matter."

The vendors told him that they'd take whatever he brought and they gave him a few ideas for pieces with pastel coloured eggs and tiny bunnies. "Charm bracelets are coming back, so maybe a few of those with eggs charms, bunnies and maybe tulip or daffodil flowers with them."

"Good idea," Harry told them. "I still can't promise anything, but I will try to let you know about it when the time comes. I have your post addresses and unless they change I'll let you know one way or the other."

They waved at him, as the cab pulled away. Soon they were haggling among each other about how to set the prices and which pieces were going to be given to which vendor for specific streets.

Meanwhile the cabbie dropped the boy off in a section of town that he was happy to note was well lit. He wasn't afraid that the generous boy would be harmed in this district, so wished the kid a "Happy Christmas" and drove away.

Harry waited until the cab was out of sight before walking into the Leaky Cauldron. There was a proximity charm around the door of the building, but he had to be sure that the ones who noticed him didn't notice him for long. Walking in he was greeted by the booming voice that belonged to his magical guardian.

"Over 'ere 'Arry," Hagrid said. "Come have a warm cuppa 'ot chocolate, 'afore we brave the street o' Diagon Alley."

Harry smiled and walked over. His luggage was in his _Arca_, which was in his pants pocket, so he wasn't burdened by any of it. Sitting down he enjoyed the drink and told Hagrid about the vendors and the cabbie. He mentioned that they were interested in something for the Easter weekend, but he didn't want to begin a project like that without guaranteeing that they would get the pieces they wanted.

"We can go ta Gringotts 'n 'ave a talk with 'em about tha'. But it'd be a good idea for ye ta come home in the spring if'n ye plan on gettin' that blessin'," Hagrid said. "Are ye about ready ta go?"

Harry nodded and stood up next to the big man. They walked through the magical street of Diagon Alley and Hagrid asked the boy if needed to get anything for his _Arca_. "I don't think so," Harry said. "I'm doing fine at the moment. I just have to look out for my schedule. If I do need something new, then I'll plan to get it during Easter break because my Aunt and Uncle will still have to be seen picking me up at the end of the school year. I will have to stay with them for about two weeks. I'm still looking into those wards that are around their house."

Hagrid didn't say anything to that because there was nothing that he could say. They walked into the Wizard's one and only bank. They headed quickly to the back offices and asked a passing goblin if Crasgrasp was available to see them.

Seated in the chairs spelled for them, Harry explained more about his plans to make his properties prosper. He wasn't about to let them fall idle. "Besides, I would hate to cause any house-elf to die of boredem," Harry said with a smile.

The goblin understood that aspect and soon the farming plans were started. Harry had four properties that were in essentially pure farming towns, so he wanted to make sure that they were in good working order. One was going to continue with the milk production from ordinary dairy cows, but another was going to specialize in llamas for their wool.

This would ensure that the house-elves would be busy processing and spinning the wool. They wouldn't dye it, but they could prepare it for dying by muggle or magical means. The third farm was for sheep and goats because Harry knew that the milk and cheese produced by goats was quickly becoming a growing business in the muggle world.

The last was going to be for birds, like ducks, chickens, turkey and ostriche. The kind specially grown for eating, as exotic bird meat was also a good idea. This was especially true if Harry was lucky enough to find restaurants that wanted that kind of meat fresh.

It was going to be a slow process, but it was a good start to have his plans ready. He had two other properties that were located in a temperate environment, which was perfect for growing a variety of plants. So those were going to be turned into bee farming fields that would produce homemade unprocessed beeswax and pure honey. The buildings on these lands were going to be torn down and rebuilt to fit the needs of the workers and the work that the farms were going to do.

There was a run down castle somewhere, that if renovated could generate some income from the muggle world by changing it into a hotel or bed & breakfast kind of thing. Which, judging from its location wouldn't be a bad idea because the terrain was ideal for hikers or naturalists.

The remaining four buildings in various parts of the world would have to be torn down, but Harry was planning to make the land into a safe sanctuaries for magical creatures. He was planning to employ groundskeepers like Hagrid to care for the land and monitor the creatures that chose to settle in the areas. Keepers huts of simple cottages would be built to replace the rundown buildings.

Hagrid had to leave the office for a bit of time, while Harry took care of the payments for Hagrid's gift. "Was there any trouble getting it?" The boy asked his estate manager.

"No," Crasgrasp replied. "You do know that because he's bigger than a human it did have to be custom made just for him. Luckily he's an adult and has finished reaching his maximum height or you might have a problem then. The regular panels will work for him."

"Perfect," Harry said. "I hope that he can catch up. Being expelled from one school does not mean that you're not entitled to finish your education else where. I think that these panels are the ones we need to set up for him. Could you please keep an eye out for them? Oh and I really like to know if there are any panels that have any reference to species magics, specifically to the kind of magics that Giants can use."

"We'll keep an eye for those, but we will not give you any guarantees about them," Crasgrasp said.

"That's all right," Harry told him, putting him at ease. The goblin wasn't going to be fired because he couldn't comply with the boy's request.

"I'd also like to know if there is a better way to get to my current home without taking the Knightbus," Harry said. "You see I've invited one of my professors over for a visit, but I just can't see him taking that thing in order to get to my town."

"I understand," Crasgrasp said. "Have you thought about connecting your Floo?"

"Floo... What?" Harry asked confused. "What do you mean?"

Crasgrasp smiled and then had Hagrid come back in to help explain about the floo network. "I'm sorry about not telling ye about the Floo," Hagrid said. "I'll show ye how it works and then we can mayhap set ye up."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"It's travel by fire," Crasgrasp said.

"How?"

"The Wizarding World has a network of fireplaces that are interconnected with one another," the goblin explained. "Through the use of various powders, known as Floo Powder, wizards and witches can travel from fireplace to fireplace."

"Wow," Harry said. "I think that I'd have to see that." He thought about it some and then had to ask. "What's to stop anyone from Flooing into your private home, if the fireplaces are all connected?"

He didn't want anyone from the Wizarding World dropping by. That would grate on his nerves and it would be a severe invasion of his privacy. The goblin and Hagrid could understand the direction of Harry's thoughts.

"It can be set up 'owever ye want it ta be set up," Hagrid told him. "If 'n ye want only one or two people to have access ta yer home, then ye only have ta pay fer it. May cost ye more, but it'd be more secure."

"He's right Mr. Potter," Crasgrasp said. "I would suggest connecting all of your existing properties by Floo together, but have the main control of the Floo remain with you at your main house. There is a service that is set up for people like you. It will redirect unwanted guests into a holding cell, until they can be dealt with by the Ministry."

"How are they dealt with?" Harry asked. "What do you mean, people like me?"

"First they're given a warning, next is a fine that will increase exponentially if the offence is repeated until they reach the maximum fine of 1200 galleons. Finally they'd be confined to Azkaban, one day per attempted intrusion. A sentence that includes all of the times they attempted it," Crasgrasp said. "What I meant by people like you... I was talking about the ones that are considered famous or are considered important to the Wizarding World. Several members of the Ministry and famous Quidditch have that kind of option on their Floos."

"Well, that's good," the boy said. "At least I'm not the only one. Can I set it up so that it will only open when I'm expecting someone and can I have it so that I can program just who is allowed to come through?"

"Of course," the goblin agreed. "I'll get the form and assist you in filling it out. Then we can discuss the muggle publications you wish to send to your professor, when he should expect to receive them and where. I'm quite certain that he wouldn't want them sent where others are watching."

Harry agreed and soon everything was set up. Hagrid took Harry to the Floo Store and they watched the demonstrations of the different Floo Powders in use. He even paid to be taught how to travel this strange system. Once more enunciation was the key. He was even shown how to speak through the Floo, which was one system that he thought could definitely be improved upon.

'_Crouching on all fours with you bum in air,_' he thought. '_How utterly ridiculous! Oh, bad thoughts. Of all the professors, my guess is that only Flitwick would be comfortable because he's closest to the ground._'

He giggled a bit, but he also learned that he could have a specialized Floo Powder that would take him directly to St. Mungo's without having to say the destination. He asked if he could have that same kind of Floo Powder programmed for his home, that way he wasn't shouting his home address for the whole world to know it.

The shop owner looked at him and realized that, yes it could be done and that it wasn't a difficult process. "Right you are sir," the lady said. "I don't know why we never thought of it before, but there's only one or two words to alter in the making of the Floo Powder for it in order for that to work." She looked at the boy and said, "If you let me use your idea, I'll see that you get a percentage of every sale for that kind of powder."

"Hold on a moment," Harry said. "Hagrid, I need Crasgrasp for this and perhaps that lawyer Walker Montrose guy."

Hagrid agreed and asked to use the store's Floo to contact them. Meanwhile Harry was thinking on the name of his main home. He liked that house in Potter's Bar, but he needed to make sure that the name he was thinking of using was not in the Grand Floo Directory. He took his time because that was about the only thing left to do, other than getting the Floo properly connected.

The name wasn't in use and it didn't look like anyone had thought using it ever. By the time that the contract was signed, including the signature of his magical guardian, Harry was now the proud owner of the first batch of 'Auto-Domus Floo Powder'.

It was set up to take him home to '_Tertia's Way_'. Plus he was going to be making five percent from every purchase of that new Floo Powder for the next five hundred years. The contract was non-extendable after that, but transferable to his heir, should he pass on.

He asked if it could be used by anyone and he was assured that single exploding pouches were the best, if you needed someone to come visit. The general Floo was best for any guest to use in order to return to their home. He purchase a one month supply of general Floo Powder, a one year supply of communication Floo Powder and a one year supply of the new 'Auto-Domus Floo Powder'. He was given his first purchase of all the Floo Powder for free. However, he did have to purchase the single carrying exploding pouches himself, but he didn't mind.

He and Hagrid left the store soon after the Lawyer and Crasgrasp left with their own copies of the contract. They walked around Diagon Alley for a bit and then took the Knightbus home. The goblin had put a rush on the Floo service, but the worker would not be there to hook up his properties until three days later.

Hagrid ate the hearty meal that Bing and Bong provided. He returned to the school with the promise that he'd be back in three days, so that Harry wouldn't be alone with a stranger in the house while his Floo system was being connected. Harry was grateful for that.

-----

The Floo network to his properties was set up and he asked if any house-elf could come through the Floo or if they would pop in. Bing told him, "Only elves, bonded to this house can pop in."

Bong agreed and said, "We can use the Floo, but you must visit all the elves in order for them to swear their Oath to you. All properties already belong to you, but the elves must be seeing the Master at least once."

"All right," Harry told them. "We'll make a day of it tomorrow. First I want you to tell me how the plans are coming along for this land and I will tell you about what's going to happen to all of the properties. If you go and warn them that I'm coming it would be easier, that way they'll know that they can come to Tertia's Way any time."

"Anytime?" the asked together.

"Of course," Harry said. "It will take time for my ideas to be worked out and I certainly don't expect them to stay somewhere that they are working just for the sake of keeping house. There are several properties that will need to be closed up for the time being, but we may open the main houses later, depending on the workers I can get."

They quickly popped away to begin spreading the news, while Harry was mentally preparing a letter of invitation for his professor. The next two days he Flooed more than he had ever thought possible, but at least now he was able to do so with ease. After seeing to all of his house-elves and the properties, he sent the letter off with Hedwig.

-----

_Potions Master_

_Professor Snape,_

_Everything has been set up. I now have a Floo connection set up. It will be open for you to come through on the twenty-sixth between the hours of seven am and nine am. You did mention that you wished to come early._

_The pouch is an exploding Floo pouch with a very special type of Floo Powder. It's new, but it has been thoroughly tested. You needn't say a word to activate it. All you need to do is step into the Floo and throw it at your feet. You will be brought immediately to my home._

_I look forward to seeing you then._

_Sincerely,_

_H. J. Potter_

_P.S. Bring your shopping list for the muggle things you're interest in purchasing._

-----

Professor Snape received the letter when he was in the privacy of his own personal rooms and believed that Harry had instructed his owl to deliver it there. She did it on her own because she was a very smart bird.

"Thank you," he said to it. It's never a bad thing to thank an owl, as you wouldn't want it to attack you while it made a delivery. He gave it an owl treat and said that no reply needed to be returned. Hedwig looked at him and then she flew into his rafters to take a nap before the next leg of her journey. He let her be.

He looked at the pouch filled with Floo Powder and wondered if this was the same stuff that Lucius Malfoy was talking about a few days ago.

"It's wondrous stuff," the man told him. "It's programmed in the same manner that the St. Mungo's batches are made. I wonder who thought of it. It'll be supremely ideal for quick withdrawals from any given situation."

Severus had to agree with that, but it did make him wonder how much more difficult it would be to catch criminals, if they had a quick escape to an unknown location. He didn't really have to worry because Harry had already thought of that and the Lawyer ensured that it was part of the Floo Business practice.

Magical Law was very interesting, especially considering something like the Auto-Domus Floo Powder. The Floo business had a standard set of rules that they must fallow and all must practice. Magical Law can call for any addition, within reason, to be added under the Law of running a Floo business.

In the case of the Auto-Domus Floo Powder the shop owner with input from Harry's Estate Manager, Hagrid, the Lawyer from Rose Associates & Bar, plus one Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived. They all agreed that in order to allow any family to purchase the new powder, they had to register each purchase with the business.

If the Ministry ever needed to know who purchased such, then the businesses would be covered only up to the point of who purchased it, when it was purchased and the name of the home or dwelling it was purchased for. Each home or dwelling would need to be listed in the Grand Floo Directory and the owner would need to purchase a new batch as the Floo Powder was linked to a specific name of their dwellings or homes.

Meanwhile Severus was getting ready to visit the Malfoys for Christmas day. Of course he had to go because even though the kid was a right brat, Draco Malfoy was his Godson. He would return to the school to repack for his stay with young Mr. Potter and take the school's Floo to visit the boy. The Headmaster allowed the connection only if he was advised about the need in advance.

Severus made sure to book the connection for Christmas Eve and for the twenty-sixth. '_I'm beginning to wonder if I'm actually going to wind up in a muggle house when I visit Potter,_' he thought. '_I didn't think that the Ministry would allow a Floo connection to be activated in the Muggle World_.'

----------------------

**TBC…**


	8. Chapter 7

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

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Chapter Seven

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**Year 1 – Part three of… ****"****CHRISTMAS"**

Harry was having a blast this Yule season. He had done everything that he had ever wanted to do during such holidays. He baked, put up the decorations that he made together with his house-elves. He shopped, wrapped and sent Christmas gifts to his friends.

He worked his little "hobby farm" and was happy to fill out a chore list with the house-elves. He learned how to feed the animals and care for them. He made sure that the ones he was planning to use as food were ones that he didn't get too attached to. It was just common sense.

In fact he only kept a couple of milking cows for milk, butter and cheese. He also kept three goats for the same and a llama on this property. He wanted to learn how to produce this stuff with his magic and without his magic.

Bing and Bong showed him where they planned the food garden for a basic spring, summer and fall harvest. They also showed him a section near the forest where they believed he could grow a several apple trees with a minimum amount of care. It would help to provide other food for his animals. They pointed out four fenced pastures ready for the animals to be let loose in the spring and summer.

His house-elves cared for him and made sure that he played, as well as worked. They made sure that when he was in his Arca, he wasn't in there for more than an hour. Meaning that he could go in for one real-time hour and then he had to come out and stay out of it for three hours before returning to it.

Hedwig was a little upset that he had purchased a few more post birds, but he explained to her that he needed some that could travel the distance. When she was making a delivery and he needed to send out more correspondence, then he just needed more postal type birds.

One was a black eagle and another was a swallow-tailed kite for his larger transactions. He even got a couple of different owls for all of his properties so that his house-elves could communicate with him. The only thing that made his first owl happy was the fact that Harry did not get another snowy owl. He didn't want to and had a feeling that she'd be truly upset about it, if he did.

He even got himself a couple of presents to put under the tree, addressed to him and coming from St. Nick. He always wanted a present addressed from the fabled man and he figured this was the one time that he could claim ignorance in an innocent fashion. His big present from St. Nick was a muggle mountain bicycle for rough terrain that he bought during the summer and had his house-elves wrap it and hide it.

The rest were a couple of hand held games and toys that he always wished he could have had like legos, the oozy bug making kit (the one where the bugs were actually gummies that he could eat in the end), lots of wind up toys for the bath and other to let loose on flat surfaces (like the chattering teeth and inch worms). His favourite, a slinky for the many stairs in his house.

Hagrid was there on Christmas Eve and planned to stay for four days after that. He would be needed at the school later. He could leave for longer periods of time, but one of the school's livestock was due to birth a foal real soon. He had to be back for that.

Harry was all for setting up a room for his magical guardian, but the large man told him that that wasn't necessary. "Hagrid," Harry argued. "There will be times that you'll be here for longer than a few days. I would like to know that you have a room of your own here and it has to be made to suit you."

"'Arry," the half-giant argued right back. "It's too much. I canna' let ye do tha'. Besides I wouldna' be comfortable visitin' 'n always havin' ta be careful o' breakin' things."

"The furniture would be spelled to accommodate," Harry told him. "Your room and furniture would be spelled for you and if I were to have company for meals the table and chairs would be spelled to compromise for everyone. That does include you, ya know."

"I'm not used ta sleepin' in such a fine 'ouse," he returned. "Couldn't ye make a place outta doors like me hut at 'ogwarts?"

"Why?" Harry was curious and had a feeling that there was more to it.

The half-giant looked at the boy and knew that he had to make him understand. "It's 'cause I need the outdoors," he said. "My hut does not get shuttered fer the winter. My doors and window are always open in the spring, summer 'n fall. I canna' live such a closed space like yer house. I wish I could, 'Arry, but somethin' feels wrong ta me about it."

"It's because your part giant," Harry said. "I've read up that there are different races of giants like there are different races of humans and other species. They have specific environmental needs and I'm glad that you told me about it."

"Bing… Bong…" Harry called out. As soon as his little elves were there, the dark haired boy asked them to fetch the plans for the house. "It's a good thing that we have barely begun our renovations," he told them. "Now let's rearrange a few things."

Hagrid was still protesting, but Harry pointed out that the man was _his_ magical guardian and that meant a bit more than spot checking to see if he was all right. "I'm not asking you to take over the parental aspect of guardianship," Harry explained. "But when you took over and we signed the contracts, it meant a lot to me to have someone that cared about how I was doing. I want you to be able to come and see me over the summer time for longer periods than just on my birthdays. I really could use your help too."

"How can I help ye, Arry?" Hagrid said. "I don' know how ta help ye do lots o' the things tha' ye're doing now."

"Groundskeepers and gamekeepers," Harry told him honestly. "You can help me look for goods ones and you can continue to teach me what you know about it. I want to learn from someone that does this on a daily basis. I sincerely hope that you're not working at Hogwarts in that capacity because it's the only thing you think you know how to do. I hope that you're working at the school because you like it."

"Oh, Arry," Hagrid said. "Don' ye never think tha' I'm doin' tha' 'cause I've no choice. My choices were limited when I was expelled from the school. No other school ever offered me the chance ta continue and no other school offered ta teach me human magics in the firs' place. Tha's 'cause of me bein' half-giant 'n all."

"Well I'm glad that you're working there because you want to," Harry said. "However, I think that there are times that I know I'll want you around. Besides you can show all of us how to work the farms properly and how to monitor them in order to succeed. I trust you."

"All right, Arry," Hagrid relented. "Ye win, ye little imp. Let's 'ave a look at yer plans for this 'ouse then."

Harry showed him the current property blueprints and he showed him the marked off areas that the house-elves had prepared. Hagrid then suggest that they add a door to the kitchen and expand the kitchen. "I'd be more comfortable eatin' in there," he told them. "The adjustable table 'n chairs would be good for parties 'n such, but if 'n we can be more… more…"

"Casual," Harry said. "I know what you mean. I agree with that, what about you guys?" He asked his house-elves.

"Youse askin, us?" Bing said.

"Youse a good little Master," Bong said. The two conferred for a moment and agreed that another door into the kitchen would be all right. In fact they would move the kitchen over a couple of feet and set up a nook like area for casual meals with room specifically made for Hagrid to fit comfortably. A door leading from to kitchen to the outside was also added to the plans. The door too would be set up so that Hagrid did not have to bend down to get through.

"Youse, canna always be made to sits at human tables," Bing told the man when they were discussing the table and chairs for the nook.

Bong continued, "Theys can sit at table made for you in here," and that was that.

Harry agreed to that too. He thought it was kind of fun sitting on Hagrid's furniture when he visited him anyway, at his hut and told him so. Now it was a simple matter of setting up a fully functioning loo, a study area and a bedroom. Actually they planned for it to look like a suite where the study led either to the kitchen of the house or out of doors, but realistically the study was a workroom set up for Hagrid tools and other items that he needed for working outside.

Because he couldn't use magic at the school he was supposed to do most the of the tool maintenance by hand. He could use products made for them, like special oils or sharpening stones, but he had to still work at maintaining the tools on his own.

Harry made sure that everything would be ready the half-giant. He made sure that Hagrid knew that he was allowed to come and they were going to make sure that everything was set up for him for this summer. The only problem that Harry could see and that Hagrid agreed with was the Floo Network.

"I don' want to have a connection in me rooms," Hagrid said. "I think that you should set up a Floo Room in this house in order ta receive people. Tha' way ye can monitor who comes 'n goes in your 'ome."

Harry made a note in the plans and found a room that was close to the main hall of the house, plus it could lead to the kitchens. He pointed it out the house-elves and told them that that area plus the room itself had to be big enough for his magical guardian. They had permission to make them three time the size as normal because he was planning to fill the main hall with pictures and paintings.

He needed a place to put them and he didn't need some gallery type room for them. That was his excuse, but still a very valid one. Next he pointed out the rooms that needed to be prepared for his first guest, plus it had to have a secret access down to the semi-complete potions lab in the basement.

"My guest is a Potions Master and my teacher," he stopped them from worrying about the lab. "I don't want you to rush to complete it because I would like his opinion on it first. Besides what's already done is enough, if he just wants to go down a tinker with it for a bit. I'm not expecting him to come here to brew potions for me."

He explained his plans and agreed that when guests were in the house that a house-elf would be assigned to assist them. Harry made sure that the house-elves rotated that task so that none of them felt left out. The house-elves popped out and returned with a couple of the more building fixer house-elves in order to have the guest room ready for his professor.

The room already had its own fully functioning loo and a small attached study that led to the bedroom. The room opened to the small study. He told the fixer elves that he wanted a secret stairway leading from the study to the basement. He showed them a closet door that was just next to the door for his potions lab and told them that the passage from the guest had to lead to that closet door.

He did wink at them and said, "Make it a slide instead of stairs." He was a kid after all. He wanted his house to be fun too. "Actually, it would be a good idea to have a few leading down here. So let's set up one from my library and one from the gardens. That way we can cultivate the ingredients fresh and bring them straight down here."

They loved the idea. They even asked if a couple of auto-fill cabinets could be added to the kitchen that way they didn't have to haul the stuff from the far gardens. He agreed. He certainly didn't want to carry everything, but he made sure that it was only the stuff that was further out that could pop into the kitchens. He wanted to gather some and haul some using a wagon, just because…

All their ideas were made and plans were set for Hagrid's new rooms and the one for his guest. Meanwhile Harry and his magical guardian enjoyed the holiday to the fullest. They made snow men and had snowball fights. The listened to Christmas music, while baking in the kitchens.

Harry had purchased the Wizarding equivalent of a T.V. and they watched old and new Christmas specials. They put up a tree, made some more ornaments and bought the rest. They went to bed early Christmas Eve, in order to be able to wake up early Christmas morning.

-----

Christmas morning it was Hagrid that called up the stairs and bellowed for Harry to come down. "Arry," he shouted. "Come on, 'Arry. It's Christmas."

Harry got up quickly, stuffed his feet in big fat thick slippers, a heavy robe to ward off the chill and came running down the stairs. He was all excited that he almost slipped, but Hagrid caught him and tossed him once in the air before putting him down.

Harry wasn't afraid that the half-giant wouldn't catch him, but he was a little embarrassed about it. '_As long as he doesn't do that at school, I think I'll let it be for a while,_' he thought. '_Besides it was kind of fun being tossed and knowing that someone was there to catch you._'

They hurried to the main room, where that T.V. wannabe was and they just looked at the tree with all the presents under it. "Bing," Harry called out. "I need the camera."

He had purchased a camera last summer in order to take pictures of his properties, but now he needed one for his new and better Christmas memories. He needed to capture this on film because he was so overwhelmed with happiness he was about to cry. The little house-elf brought the camera and began to snap a few pictures of the room, the tree, the presents under it and of Harry and Hagrid laughing at the thought of Christmas.

Harry never had a real one and Hagrid hasn't had one since his father passed away. "This is wonnerful," he said. "Now what are we goin' ta do firs'?"

"Stockings, then breakfast and finally presents," Harry told him decisively. He wanted the time to savor the opening of the gifts. The half-giant agreed and once their breakfast was done they returned to the room.

Harry was nearly bouncing with excitement. He couldn't wait to open them, but more importantly he couldn't wait for Hagrid to open his. Tertia was nearby, happy to be freely slithering around the room.

(…I like the room…) she hissed. Harry laughed and related this to Hagrid.

"Jus' make sure tha' she don' get lost in the wrappins'," he said the boy.

Harry said that she could understand them and then one by one they opened their presents. The ones that Harry had purchased for himself, he had gotten during the summer and had somehow forgotten about them, until he saw that they were from St. Nick.

Hagrid received candy from the Headmaster, a box of emergency salves for himself and for some of the animals that he cares for from Professor Snape. He received a couple of trick wands from the Weasley twins and a new kettle from Professor McGonagall. He got a chess set from Professor Flitwick and a few other things that were more practical things rather than true gifts from the other teachers in the school.

Harry received chocolate frogs from Ron, a box of 'Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans' from Hermione and a jumper (wool sweater) from Mrs. Weasley. He got some more sweets from the Weasley Twins, but he was leery about them because they were fond of pranking them. Hagrid got him a carrier for Tertia, complete with a miniature monkey puzzle bush in order for her to slither through the twisty branches. His most puzzling gift was an '_invisibility cloak_' that came with a mysterious note that told him to '_**use it well**_'.

Surprisingly he received a toy potions kit for ages six and up, from Professor Snape with a note that told him that not all potions needed to made for a serious purpose. In the note he explained that in order to produce potions for any purpose, _all_ options to making them must be explored.

"Thankfully he didn't make me write an essay about why these ones work they way they do," Harry told his magical guardian ruefully.

Hagrid burst out laughing at that. "Right ye are 'Arry, I'm surprised that he didna' want ye ta do tha'. But remember he's comin' ere tomorrow. 'E jus' might still ask it o' ye."

Harry huffed at that, but then he was excited once more. "Stay here a moment, I've got your present in the other room and I want to bring it to you," he told the man. He came back levitating a huge box.

"This is for you," Harry said happily.

Hagrid looked at huge box and didn't know what to say. "Open it," the boy told him. "It's not alive."

"'Arry, ye didna'…"

"Ah," he said holding up his hand. "I missed a few holidays, so just open it."

Hagrid just gave the boy a look, but then he attacked the brightly colour paper, tearing it here and tossing it there. Once the gift was revealed his eyes began to tear up. "Arry," he sniffed. "How… When…"

Harry inched forward and asked, "Do you like it?"

Hagrid pulled the boy towards him, placed him in his lap and hugged him. "Thank ye, Arry," he said. "Thank ye."

They stayed like that for a bit, not knowing that Bong had snagged the camera and snapped a picture of that moment. Later Harry explained that the normal panels would work, but that the _Arca_ was specifically made for his larger size. "Seeing that the teachers in there are ghosts, they'll grow to match your size and all of the furniture was tailor made for you," Harry said. "I put in some of the basic panels, like the ones you had given me, but I added two or three that I think you might like. Are you sure that you like it?"

"O' course, I like it," Hagrid told him. "It came from ye 'n it shows tha' ye care. Did ye 'appen ta ask about the timin' fer me?"

"Yep," the green-eyed boy said. "The shop owner told me that it would be the same as a normal person. You go in for one normal hour and your time is compressed to pass three in the trunk. I didn't get extra compartments placed in yours and the shop owner said that depending on if you need one then only one extra could possibly be added. It has something to do with compensating for the needed room for someone your size."

"It's all right, 'Arry," the large man said. "I know just the place ta keep it. Will it shrink?"

"Not by much," Harry told him. "It'll fit inside another travel type trunk, but I think that if you had one with more than one compartment you'd have to let your _Arca_ take up one compartment on its own."

"Right ye are, Arry," Hagrid was eager to have a closer look at the panels. He knew that you could go in and out of a learning trunk without turning the hourglass by the door, so he was curious about the panels that he was seeing.

Harry knew what the man wanted to do and waved him off. "I'm going to take my potions kit from Professor Snape into the kitchen and play with it there. I haven't set up the clean-up part of the lab yet and I don't want to deal with buckets of water. Will I see you at lunch?"

Hagrid looked at the clock and noticed that it was only nine-thirty in the morning. He smiled and nodded. "Ye shall," he promised.

"Wicked," came the reply that the big man barely heard, before being sucked into his own personal _Arca Doctrina_.

-----

The day after Christmas saw Hagrid sleeping in. He had spent most of the day before inside of his Arca, exploring and wondering what made Harry select those specific panels. There were two that were specific to learning magics that was considered non-human. When he had asked the boy about it the answer was, "You're not completely human, so why would you limit yourself only to human magic."

Harry was right. Hagrid never saw the goblins doing human magics and that led him to explore his strengths and weaknesses in that area. His teacher was one of the very few quarter-giants ghosts in the world and he was one of the super rare few that had mastered many aspects of giant magic. He would definitely be able to guide Harry's magical guardian in learning his full potential.

Severus had spent most of Christmas Eve and Day with the Malfoy family. He was, after all the Godfather to the brat. Not that the boy was much of one during the holidays or with his parents around, but in the school the man had to put up with much, hence his growing fondness for the Boy-Who-Lived just because Harry was so different from Draco.

He waffled over bringing a gift to his host or hosts. He was convinced more so now that he had the exploding Floo pouch to get to Potter's home. '_It would be the courteous thing to do irregardless,_' he thought.

He packed his things carefully and made sure that he had the suit from the time he had transfigured his robes into a muggle suit complete with a trench coat. He hoped that the boy would plan another outing into that fascinating culture.

He was careful every time he used the Floo to leave the school because he knew that the Headmaster like to monitor those that he considered his favourites. He still felt like the man still did not trust him. The old man always showed up just as the Floo connection was opened and today was no surprise to him to see the coot show up now.

"Headmaster," he sneered in his own way. "To what do I owe this intrusion into my private quarters?"

"Ah, Severus, my dear boy," the old man began. "I was wondering just where you could be going so early after having returned only the night before."

"I don't have to tell you a thing and you know it Albus," he said thanking his lucky stars that the boy had extracted the Oath before he left. "I've already requested the time and Floo connection, now is there anything else? I've no wish to be delayed."

The Headmaster was disappointed at not being informed, but he had something that would tag the man, if he took it from his hands. That way he'd be able to find out where the man was going or so he thought. The Floo was already open to let the man through as the Headmaster didn't think that the Potions Master would deny him the location of his whereabouts.

"Yes," the old meddler confirmed, he loved that his Potions Master was such a good spy that he had a way of quietly saying his destinations in the Floo that no could read his lips or hear him. "Poppy left me this list of potions that she needs for the infirmary. Said that she had forgotton to give it to you."

Severus shook his head knowing that no such thing had occurred. "Really Albus," he said. "That has to be one of your oldest tricks." He looked at the clock, seven fifteen and he knew that he had his luggage with him in his pockets so he stepped into the Floo. "See you New Year's Eve," he said holding out his clutched hand. "I've already taken care of Poppy's requests and she's already told me that she's not lacking any potions. You do know that, do you?"

He dropped the exploded pouch and Flooed away without even saying a word. The Headmaster was a little out of the loop in such matters. However he did notice that Severus had pursed his lips firmly before dropping the pouch from his hand. Albus Dumbledore was left blinking in the afterflare of the Floo Flames.

"What will they think of next?" He said to himself leaving the Potions Master's quarters.

-----

Severus landed in a large fireplace that looked to be part of a kitchen. He heard several pops in front of him. Looking around he saw three house-elves standing in front of him. "Sorry for coming so early," he began. "Is your Master here?"

"'Ello there, Severus," a voice rumbled in his direction from a corner of the room. "Let the little 'uns show you about the 'ouse. 'Arry's still sleepin'. 'Tween ye and me, 'ees still tuckered out from yesturday."

"Hagrid!" The Potions Master exclaimed. "What are _you_ doing here?" His question was not said unkindly, he was just very curious about why the school's caretaker and gamekeeper would be here, of all places.

"Invited," the large man said. He wasn't offended. He knew that the dark haired Professor was curious. "Jus' like ye. Now let the elves show ye ta yer rooms. Did ye 'ave breakfas'?"

"No I did not," he told them. "I had to leave early."

Hagrid nodded and said only one word, "Dumbledore."

Severus blinked, but then nodded his confirmation. He allowed the elves to show him his rooms and was told that the name of the main house-elves, Bing and Bong. The extra one was there to take care of him and his rooms. He was free to call on Elly for anything and if she didn't know about something one of the other two should know.

He pulled out his luggage and allowed the little creature to do what pleased her the most. "Sirs," Bing began. When he had the man's attention, he continued. "This heres fur you," he pulled a book on an angle in the shelf and showed the man the secret door. "Goes downs to basement, if youse need to goes to Lab."

"Lab?"

"Potions," Bong told him. "Only if youse want to go, Master said youse not here to be makin' potions fur him, but we's makin' access easy in case youse want go see it. We shows youse the rest?"

"The rest?" He asked. He was happy to know that Harry didn't invite him here to brew potions, but was glad that the child understood that making potions was his calling. He sometimes just had to make some or experiment with them.

"Of house," the little house-elf confirmed.

Severus nodded and pushed the book back in order to read the title, '_Everyday Potions_'. It was a common enough book and he had seen it in all of the guest rooms that he had ever stayed in. There was no way that he'd ever need to read that book again in his life, but this was the first time that he knew he couldn't as it was part of the mechanism to open the secret passage.

"Lead the way," he told them. It wasn't a large house by any means, but there was a lot of potential and it had obvious signs that they were working on it. He looked into the room with the W.V. (Wizard Viewer). He liked the Christmas tree and did see numerous interesting presents that belonged to a child and another person.

They showed him were the Floo room was going to be in the future and told him that this was where he'd be directed once the room was done up properly. They told him some of the plans for this little 'hobby farm', as Harry had been calling it. Then they led him to the library, a few of the less used rooms, they did point out several loo locations (just in case) and then returned him to the kitchen for the morning meal.

"Did ye see a bit o' the 'ouse?" Hagrid asked him.

Severus nodded and said, "It has a lot of potential."

Hagrid smiled at the man, putting him at ease. "Come 'n 'ave a cuppa," he said. "I don't know when 'Arry 'ill be down."

"Would you mind telling me why you're here?" Severus asked. "I mean other than being invited. It's obvious that you spent Christmas day here."

"He's my magical guardian," Harry said sleepily from the doorway, yawning. "I'm glad you're here early. We'll be able to go to the grove at noon for the blessing."

"Blessing?" The professor asked.

Harry frowned and looked at Hagrid asking, "Didn't you ask him?"

"Didna' 'ave the chance," the larger man said.

"Oh," Harry said. "Let's talk it over at breakfast."

They moved into another room that they had been using for their meals until the kitchen's nook was completed. They sat down and the elves called for the meal like they normally did at the school. Severus raised an eyebrow at that because it was a flashy bit of magic that he thought was only reserved for the school.

Harry explained, "I told them that if they are more comfortable serving this way then they could. It's entirely their choice what spells to use when they serve the wizards." He dug into his strawberry waffles and watched as the men chose their preferences.

"Why don't you explain that Blessing issue before we do anything else," Severus told them.

"Hagrid should explain it," Harry said. "He's the one that told me about it and I did it in the Fall when we went to get my Quidditch equipment."

"When was this?" Professor Snape asked.

"You were in the potions store looking over crate after crate," Harry said. "I'd been thinking of doing it and since my elves had prepared the lands for this coming summer, I felt that I needed the Seasons Blessing in order to succeed."

"Seasons Blessing," Severus said, raising an eyebrow at the large man sitting with them. "Hagrid?"

"I don' know where I heard abou' it, but there wasna' anythin' bad in the process," he told them. "I figured tha' Arry could use a blessin' on him 'n 'is lands."

"I looked it up," Harry said. "I also didn't think that there was anything wrong with getting a blessing for each season. The steps are specific, a gift to the fairies and if they like it they will give you something in return, plus a blessing to the Master of the Lands, who has to pass it on to the occupants currently on the land."

"Do you have that book here?" The professor asked.

"Sure," Harry said. "It's in the library."

"I'd like to see it before agreeing to anything," the dark haired man said.

Harry had a mouthful of waffles, but nodded, knowing that the man wouldn't commit to anything without checking to see how dangerous it would be. He waggled his fingers calling forth the gift that he had gotten his professor. He told him, "I didn't want to send it to you because I didn't want you to have to explain why you're getting a gift from me."

"Thank you," he told the boy. Since he barely ate in the mornings anyway, he pushed his plate aside and opened the package. He smiled when he saw most the muggle publications that he had picked up with Harry that fall day. It contained all of the ones that he had missed, but only of the ones that he had showed a continued interest in receiving.

There was also a card with the gift and a note within. The note basically told him that he now had a full year's subscription to these publications. The note also stated that they would be delivered by one Harry's house-elves to his private quarters at the school in a plain brown package on the fifteenth of every month. That would allow for the professor to get more publications, as a couple of the subscriptions were for bi-monthlies and one was a weekly.

'_The boy was thoughtful enough to think of a way around receiving any post in the Great Hall,_' he thought with a bit of joy. '_He'd have made a wonderful Slytherin, but even if he was he'd be under strong scrutiny by everyone in the Wizarding World_.'

"Thank you, Harry," he said touched by the thoughtful gift. Then he looked under the magazines and found the box. It was a '_science_' kit for ages nine and up. It had a microscope, a couple of petri dishes to grow mold cultures, some liquids and chemicals for mixing and a few other items to further the growth of a budding scientist. He was fascinated by it and could barely wait to try it out.

"Thank you," he said once more touched by the boy's encouragement.

"Happy Christmas Professor," the boy said as he finished his own breakfast.

Hagrid had long since finished his and was getting ready to look in on the livestock living here. Harry was about to follow, but the half-giant said, "I'll take care o' 'em. You've a guest tha' ye must put firs' this time." He leaned in and whispered, "At leas' until yer both at yer ease outside o' the school."

Harry smiled and then looked at his Professor who was looking right back at him. "I don't have anything planned for us today," he told the man. "Tomorrow some of the muggle stores are having extreme sales and bargains. I thought you'd like to go and shop for some of those scented oils that you were talking about."

"Why are they selling them like that?"

"They want to get rid of their old stock and prepare to get new stuff," Harry explained. "Some muggle companies will put out a theme or colour of the year kind thing. You can usually see it in the home renovations and stuff. I plan to pick cans of paint at bargain prices because some colours will only be available for a short time. So I have to pick up the mixes that I want."

"Why not do it the magical way?" Severus asked. When Harry looked at him wondering what he was talking, he explained. "There is a magical base coat for the walls of any home and depending on the colours only the base needs to be changed. For example, if you want to paint this room with light tones or pastel colour, you'd need to use a light base coat. Then you can change the colour of your walls with magic, but the colours only have a certain range for that base coat. Darker colours require a dark base."

"I thought about that," Harry told him. "I will be using it for guest rooms and stuff, but I tried it in the paint store and for some reason the limits that the Wizards have were truly limits. The range of colours for a certain based was limited by the ones who created the base. Besides with muggle paints, if I don't like the colour I can always alter it with magic to a light or darker tone."

Severus was surprised at that. "How could you know that?"

"I tested it when I was living with my aunt and uncle," Harry said. "They told me that I could do whatever I wanted to the room they had given me, so I tested it. I used the magical bases on a wall that hidden by my bed and tested magically colouring the walls. Whenever I tried a colour that the base should have been able to accept, it didn't take."

"How were you able to cast spells before your first year?" He asked the boy. "The Ministry doesn't allow spells to be cast in a muggle environment."

"We only learn _that_ once we're all at school," Harry said. "Our letters never one tells us that we can not do magic outside of the school and I know that even Hermione tested some of the first year spells at her home. Most of the muggle-born do because they're curious to know what they can or can't do. There's something that they feel inside that made them wonder why strange things happened to them and now with their wand they can show their families proof. It's only after entering our first classes that we are told about the Ministry Law for underage use of magic and about how magic is not to be conducted in an area where the population is mostly muggle."

Severus was surprised at that, but what the boy said made sense. Harry continued on though and said, "If they didn't let us use the magics before our first year, I bet that there would be less muggleborns at the school. However, some would probably cause more trouble in the Muggle World, if they began to teach themselves or learned how to harness their abilities without begin monitored. I'm more than sure that's what has happened in the past, which is why they let it be until we get to the school. Could you imagine what havoc Voldemort would have be able to do, if he had been invited to the school, but wasn't permitted to come and he had learnt a few things on his own instead?"

The Potions Master's left arm twitched at the name of Voldemort, but he never let on that the name affected him in that fashion. Curious he asked, "Why aren't you afraid of his name?"

"It's only a name," Harry said. "Besides calling someone '_you-know-who_' is ridiculous. No muggle-born or muggle-raised can understand it. It's actually one of the first jokes that a child learns, but it was one that was made popular by a pair of muggle comedians."

Severus raised an eyebrow looking for an explanation. Harry shook his head and then said, "Let's go the library. I have scrap paper there and I'll draw you the explanation as best as a can."

The Potions Master was not a stupid and after a few round of "Let's talk about _you-know-who_", "_No_, who?" He understood why many of the muggle-borns and muggle-raised struggled to change the name of the Dark Lord to the accepted format that all witches and wizards expected from them.

"What is the joke that the comedians made?" Severus asked. Harry smiled and pulled a rule book for playing baseball. He said that it this was one of the famous muggle past-times and that the professor needed to know the positions that the players had.

Then he explained that the joke was about the names of the players in those positions and that one comedian didn't know that the names of the players were. Once the professor had heard that explanation, Harry pulled out an old record with the comedians and they listened to the classic, "Who's on first?" by Abbot and Costello.

While they were listening to the men going through the names, Harry pointed out the positions in the game. When the whole thing was completed, they listened to it again. Harry then said, "Imagine if Quidditch players had those names. _Who_ is the Seeker, _What…_ Catches, _How…_ he Catches too, _When…_ he's there to Catch, _I Don't Know…_ Keeper, etc... Sometimes the joke doesn't translate well, but imagine going to Japan where there are names like Yu and Mi."

That gave Severus a lot to think about. It was true that there was a lot to a name. He was thinking while Harry went to the shelves in his library to pull out the book that contained the information on the Season Blessings.

Severus read the passages about it and knew that this was some old homeowner ritual that was lost to time. He read up on the expectations and he knew that Harry wasn't going to be one of the ones that neglected his promised obligations to the entities that he was requesting the blessings from. From what he was reading it was an old spell or ritual for when a magical property changed ownership or an heir first claims ownership.

It didn't have to be done and it wasn't mandatory nowadays because changes of ownership occurred quite frequently or the people gaining ownership of properties or lands didn't care about them. That's what it certainly happened with Black when his mother died and he was left as the heir to their properties and fortunes. Not that he cared about that man, but he could see that if the idiot had done the ritual, he'd have had more control over all lands, holdings, everything that fell under the Black Family name.

It didn't look like Harry Potter was going to ignore such an important step to gaining a hold of his family's things and it was also clear that James Potter was also guilty of neglecting this ritual. '_He might have lived, if he'd have done it._' It was a disturbing thought. '_Many could have lived, if they had gathered the Seasonal Blessings like young Harry._'

The boy was watching him and waiting with a strange patience surrounding him. It was like his mind was in another world and it was. Harry was thinking about the ritual and how to go about it. He didn't want to presume that Professor Snape would accompany him, but he did hope that the man would say yes when he asked him.

"Harry," the man said calling the boy's attention to him. "You said that you've already done the one for the Autumn Season. Would you mind terribly if I joined for this one? I find myself curious about it. How it works and why it works."

"Really," Harry said. He became excited at the professor's interest and said, "I was going to ask you to come along. Hagrid came with me the last time and almost stepped on the mushrooms that made up part of the fairy rings. They weren't offended, but the Lady did say that it would be best if he waited for me to return the next time."

"The Lady? What Lady?"

"The one in charge of the Fairies," the boy said. "You know the one, their Queen."

Severus's eyes widened in surprise and he said, "From what I've just read no fairy queen has ever been mentioned as part of this process."

"That's what I thought too until she told me that it has been a long time since someone has called them with sincere wishes for such a Blessing," Harry explained. "She did say that some families or land owners only went through the motions to achieve this and she hoped that I would continue in the manner that I've been taught. Although I don't quite know what she means by that because for this I was partially taught by Hagrid and the rest was learned by reading about it."

"Are you sure that that's the only method that you learned about this?" Severus asked, sensing that there might be more, but that the boy was hesitant to voice it.

Harry's brow furrowed and he thought about it some more. "I can't think of where else I could have learnt," he said. "It'll come to me when it does and if it's important enough for me to recall. In the meantime we should get the cakes and sweets from the kitchens. We need to be in the grove by noon and I know that I'll need you to guide me out for the first part of it."

"Very well," the professor said. He was curious to witness such a Blessing, but he didn't understand what the boy meant about the cakes or sweets.

They were bundled up nice and warm walking to a copse of trees located just west of the house. "Could you tell me about the cakes and sweets?" Severus asked. "They didn't look like they were made by the elves. I don't think that I have ever seen that kind before."

"Of course they weren't made by my house-elves," Harry said. "I'm the petitioner for my lands and properties. I have to make my offerings to the fairies myself. I thought that they might like the sweets and cakes from various parts of the world. I baked them myself with hopefully the right mix natural ingredients. Nothing was processed by magical means."

"Are there any more?" He wanted to have a taste and Harry let out a laugh knowing what the man wanted. "Well?"

"Yes professor," the boy said. "There are more at the house. Once I share these with the fairies, I can share the rest with all of you."

Severus looked ahead and saw the size of the trees in the grove. "You'll need to watch your step, Professor," Harry told him.

The man looked down and saw ring upon ring of mushrooms. Harry had stopped, opened his basket and placed a sweet or a cake in the centre of nearly every ring. He was following a nearly invisible path to the centre where there was a ring of the largest mushrooms that he had ever seen. Inside the ring were stepping stones, but Harry motioned the man to stay where he was and to be silent for a bit.

Severus Snape was a man with a strong control of himself, but this situation was scary to him because of the unknown element that had been added. Fairies and fairy magic was subtle, mischievous and it could turn deadly if one did not respect it.

It looked like Harry knew what was expected of him. He only walked on the stepping stones until he reached a flattened rock in the centre of it. He emptied the remaining contents of the basket and placed it empty on the Alter as well.

"I come on this day to seek the Winter Blessing for my lands, holdings, family, friends and teachers. Bless me and through me all of mine," Harry said in a very serious tone.

"What gift bring you?" A small childish, laughing voice asked.

"I bring cakes and sweets made by my hand. All were processed by my hand without aid or interference."

Another childish voice asked, "Do you wish food in return for food?"

"I do not wish it," Harry stated.

"Do you want it?"

"I'd rather have the Blessing," Harry replied. He knew how they liked to tease him, but he was very careful with the words he was using.

"You'd _rather_, but you would like the fruit like so many others before you," the voice said.

"I'll not deny that they appeal," Harry said.

"Offer us one more thing," a final voice said. "Then you may have your 'Winter' Blessing and some red-fruit from the blue-fig tree."

Harry paused to think about it. He knew just what to offer, but not wishing to offend he said so. "I carry nothing with me, but I have one other thing that is mine."

"Yes," the voices joined in anticipation.

"I could sing for you," he offered. "I have a friend who told me that I had a nice voice. If you will accept three songs, I could sing for you."

"So mote it be, child." A lady's voice chiming voice said. "You may begin."

Knowing that there are prices for everything, Severus was very concerned by the boy's offer to the voices. However, Harry sensing that the man was about to walk on the path turned to him and shook his head. He motioned to his professor that the man had to stay where he was and not move a step further.

To help put him at ease Harry winked at him to let him know that he was all right. For some reason, that worked. Severus was convinced now that the boy really should have been a Slytherin, however in this case he just crossed his arms and glared to show his concern. Harry smiled. He nodded and turned back to face the Alter.

The boy's voice rose and fell to its own beat and he began with "Danny Boy", his second song was an Italian song called 'L'Abitudine (la bi tude een neh) and his final choice was that same "Ave Maria" that he had sung in latin to put the three-headed dog to sleep. He sang with joy, laughter, loneliness, and nearly every strong feeling that the words conveyed. The fairies loved them and Severus was shocked.

He felt the words in all of the songs. It was like the boy had added his emotions to make them more then they should have been on their own. They were very emotive pieces and the fairies were very grateful.

Harry finished his last song and the Queen bent over and kissed his right eyelid saying, "For your lands," a kiss to the left eyelid, "for your home" and one to his forehead, "for your friends and family".

The boy was about to turn around, but she stopped him by saying, "Call your friend forward." Harry didn't use a sound, but beckoned his professor and motioned him to step on the same stones that he had taken to get to the grove's Alter.

Severus took one cautious step after another and when he had arrived he stood behind the boy. He placed his potions stained hands on the shoulders in front of him to show that he supported the boy's actions. He looked into the eyes of the otherworldly creature, raised an eyebrow and dared her to comment.

He never hesitated at that moment and that was his test. It was proof positive that he supported the boy no matter how tainted he was with the dark magics that they could sense in his left arm. The queen smiled at the dark haired man and said, "I've always loved the dark ones." She turned to Harry and said, "Daisies of that nature will be acceptable for Spring young one."

Severus watched as a tiny blue fairy flew up to the queen and whispered in her ear. "Very well," she said to the little fairy. She pulled four flakes of falling snow from the air, changed its nature and held out her hand to the boy. "Your template for Spring. We will expect the first hundred." Then she looked at the Potions Master who was still waiting. "Take the basket and warn the boy. No singing for three turns of the earth round the sun."

Harry was looking down, but once she had finished speaking he bowed to her. His professor following suit and they cautiously backed away from the grove. Severus wanted to speak, but the boy only took his hand and led him away from the grove as quick as possible. The Winter Blessing was affecting him and he needed to pass it on or he'd get sick.

He tugged his professor to an area that was nearly the centre of all that property. He turned around and his professor gasped. "Harry," he said. "Your eyes are…"

He was stopped by cold hands on his mouth and so saw the shushing motion of a finger against the boy's on mouth. Harry smiled, knowing that his professor was startled by the completely blue colour of his eyes, but he continued on with the sharing of the Winter Blessing. He turned to face the grove to the west, facing the direction where the sun dies in the sky at night.

He brought his hands to kiss his fingertips, barely touching his eyelids and he kneeled down on the ground, putting his forehand to the frozen earth. "I pass this Winter Blessing into my lands and all lands connected to me through the roots of the Earth," he said with sincere gratitude and a strong exhale of air.

He stood up and took his professor's hand again to tug him towards the house. The dark haired man watched the boy go through the same motions, except this time he brushed his fingertips to his forehead too and said, "I pass this Winter Blessing into my home and all holdings connected by their strong foundations and the roots of my ancestors."

Harry pulled the man around the house and had him sit down in a chair, next to Hagrid who was watching the whole procedure. His two main house-elves, plus Elly were standing there waiting. He kneeled before each house-elf and kissed their foreheads saying, "I pass this Winter Blessing to all those who work for me and through them all others, I thank them for their hard and honest work."

He walked up to Hagrid, who leaned down to smile at him. He kissed him on both cheeks and then his forehead saying, "I pass this Winter Blessing onto my Magical Guardian and family. I thank you for caring about me as I am and I hope to make you proud." Hagrid blinked away a couple of tears and sniffed a bit at the touching moment.

Professor Snape was surprised when the boy turned to him and he saw the swirl of blue and green in the boy's eyes. Harry took the man's hands. He kissed the back of the fingers that held the Oath and then he kissed the man on his forehead saying, "I pass this Winter Blessing to my first guest and new friend. I thank you for teaching me and pass this Winter blessing to you, your fellows and the school, on be-half of all the students in it. I sincerely thank you for your continued your unthinking support in spite of the Dark that you carry with you, in your left arm."

Severus watched as Harry blinked several times and passed out. Hagrid moved quickly catching the boy in his arms and cradling him like a babe, rocking him in his strong, gentle arms.

"He knows," Severus said looking at his left arm, shocked that the boy was aware of it.

"Aye," Hagrid agreed. "E's a bright one. 'E won't judge ye if 'n ye don't judge 'im in return. I'll jus' take 'im ta 'is room. 'E's in need o' sleep now as the lands pull the rest o' the Blessin' from 'im."

The professor nodded and watched as the large man carried away the wonderful, non-judging Boy-Who-Lived.

-----

Harry woke up three hours later refreshed and ready to take on the day, although the day was more than half over. He ran down the stairs to join the other men. He hoped that his potions professor was still there.

He needn't have worried. "Hello everyone," he said to them.

"Afternoon, there 'Arry," Hagrid said. He was reading one of the books that he had found in his library panel on various giant races and the magics that are linked to them.

Professor Snape was actually sitting on the ground and fiddling with… Harry leaned forward and looked closer. The man had a guilty look, but Harry saw it. The man was sitting on the ground and winding up the chattering teeth and the inching worms.

"They're great aren't they," Harry told him not minding in the least that the man was curious about them. "There were tons in the store where I found these ones and I wanted to get the all."

"There are more of these?" Severus asked. He was relieved that Harry wasn't making fun of him for playing with what was obviously a muggle child's toy.

"Yep," Harry said. "The worms come in all shapes and colours. They had bees that when they were wound up the wound race across a flat surface and the wings would flap. There was ladybugs, dinosaurs, spiny caterpillars, boats, planes, trains, jumping beans, etc… It was a fun store. I hope to go back tomorrow to see what they have on sale or maybe in the spring."

"If ye're makin' plans, don' forget ta go ta Gringotts," Hagrid said. "Ye might want 'em ta check yer bans."

"Your right," he said. "They did the same thing in the autumn after the Blessing then."

"I be thinkin' it has ta do wit' yer magics," the larger man said. "Ye know the ones I mean."

"Really," he said. "I didn't think that anything would affect that. I'm still only learning."

"Tha's true, but ye must 'ave don' somethin' tha' they really liked fer it ta affect ye," Hagrid said looking into Harry's eyes.

Harry looked down and blushed, which made Hagrid's bushy eyebrows go right up. He turned to look at the Severus who watching the whole thing with a half-grin. "He sang," he explained. "He sang three very different songs, but the Queen…" he paused, but he knew that he had to tell the boy what she told him. "No singing for three turns of the earth round the sun. Do you have an idea what she means?"

Harry blanched a bit and then answered, "No singing for at least three years. Did she say anything else or do anything else?"

Severus paused a moment and then remembered Harry's cold hands in his, putting something there to guard it. That's the impression he got from the boy. He pulled out a small chain that looked like it was made for the wrist a small child. "There is this, which she said is your template for Spring and that the first one hundred belongs to her, whatever that means. I had to bring back the basket, but I don't know what was put in it."

"Redfruit," Harry said. "For the songs they gave us redfruit from the blue-fig tree."

"That does not exist," Severus told them. "It's only the stuff of fables and legends."

"Ah, bu' Sev'rus," Hagrid said. "Legends 'n fables mus' begin somewhere."

The man's eyes were huge when Bing brought in the picnic basket. It had four lumpy rounded forms inside it. They looked like they were bulging with seeds and yet it was not a fruit to be eaten, ever. It was a very special fruit that when brought together with the other four of the same family, wonderful things could happen.

The four fruit were the same, but their names match the colours, greenfruit from the orange-fig tree, redfruit from the blue-fig tree, orangefruit from the green-fig tree and bluefruit from the red-fig tree. The true legend about the fruit and the fig trees were lost, but somehow the Boy-Who-Lived seemed to know the secret. He looked at Harry and knew that the boy had found the secret.

"How did you…"

"I can't tell you that, Professor," Harry said. "It's a riddle that must be solved and then complied with, but it can _never_ be told to anyone. That's why there are only stories and legends about them. A person must work for it." He winked at the man and said the only thing that he could about the subject, "It's just like a Blessing."

"Supper is ready," Bong said, popping into the room with a quiet 'ting' sound rather than a loud 'pop'.

They sat at the table and discussed their plans for the next day. Hagrid wanted to go into Diagon Alley in order to look for more panels for his own Arca. Harry had given him the spoken languages for only the Latin and French, he wanted one more. He had the library type room with different books. There was the panel for proper writing and comprehensive learning.

He had the panel for magics related to giants. He had a charms panel that would teach him up to fourth year and there was another panel available at the store for fifth to seventh year charms. Harry explained that he had a look at most of the higher level charms. He said that he didn't think that Hagrid would need those right away, but that it helped to know the first to fourth year ones because of the magical first aid and general muggle first aid panel that he had given the man.

Harry left the rest up to the man to decide, but did mention that the goblins were looking into more giant-type panels like combat and stuff, so that Hagrid could learn to use his strengths where he needed to.

Severus wanted to go the toy store, but he also wanted to go to a few of the perfumeries that the figured existed in the muggle world. "It's the adverts in some of the magazine," he said. "I'm curious to know if there really is that great a variety out there."

"It'll have to be one of the last shops we go to," Harry told the man. "Trust me on this one, it has to be the last one you go to and we'll have to bring a can of plain ground coffee beans."

"Why?" Hagrid asked.

"Some smells can overwhelm you and so we need to be able to get the smell out of our noses quickly without magic," Harry said. "We'll just have to be careful."

"He does have a point," Severus told the half-giant. "It's the same with potions ingredients. You sometimes have to judge by smell and if you're more sensitive then most, you need that knowledge to stop any adverse reactions."

Harry was fiddling with the chain that the Potions Master had returned to him. It was a cute thing. A small interlocked rounded chain with a tiny charm in the shape of an egg. The egg was a pale pastel colour and on either side of it there was a tiny string of small dangly leaf shapes. It wouldn't be difficult to replicate and he knew that's what the Queen had requested of him.

However it would have to done by magical means and that meant that once he had decided on the pattern for the chain or the way he wanted it to look, he'd have to make one hundred of them. He knew that could use different stones for the eggs shapes, but they all had to look the same.

"The first hundred," he groaned. "That means that I can't prototype this one first."

"Why do you need to make these?" Severus asked.

Harry looked at the man and asked, "One of the fairies had whispered in _her_ ear, didn't they?"

This day was getting to be a bit too much for the man, but he answered truthfully. "Yes, one did."

The boy huffed and exhaled deeply before explaining. "There was a fairy in the Forbidden Forest that was injured. I gave her a charm similar to this to make her feel better. It was just a little one, lost from the others."

Severus held out his hand wanting to have a look at it. He noticed the details were seemed like they were few, but to make one hundred of these…

"I'll show you tomorrow when we go to London," Harry told him. "I have some studying to do, if either of you don't mind, please excuse me for the rest of the night. I'll see you both tomorrow at breakfast before we're to go shopping. Oh… and Professor you may want to dress a little more casually as the streets will be crowded and filled with people."

The men let him go, but Severus had a horrified expression on his face. "Casual?" He asked out loud. "What does he mean by that?"

"Regular pants 'n shirts," Hagrid told the horrified man. "Jus' like 'Arry was wearin' taday."

"I think I need to retire for the rest of the evening," he told the other man. "Sometimes things are just too much."

Hagrid just chuckled softly and nodded his head letting the Potions Master escape for the rest of the evening.

----------------------

**TBC...**


	9. Chapter 8

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

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Chapter Eight

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**Year 1 – Part four of… "Boxing Day" and more**

The morning after the day of Harry's Winter Blessing, Severus walked into the kitchen in time to see a second door appear. He watched in fascination as the roof rose up in the section where the planned nook was going to be.

He then heard another door open, followed be scents from the outdoors and he listened as Harry said, "I think we'll need a washing room in here for the winter. We can wash off the dirt easy enough in the summer with a bucket of water outside, but we need to have something in place for the winter. We can't be traipsing around the house after just having mucked out the stable."

He heard Hagrid's reply, "Buckets o' water 'ill do fer now. Yer washin' room is a good idea, bu' mayhap ye should be thinkin' of a changing room with a shower stall. Tha' way ye can keep changes o' clothes down 'ere fer muddy days."

"We'll have to go through the plans and see where we can adjust them," Harry said walking into the kitchen. He used his magic to call forth a few pans, mixing bowls and a kettle. He made the kettle go under the water tap to fill up and then he sent it to a burner at the back of the stove.

"What do you want for breakfast, Hagrid?" He asked and then said, "Good morning Professor, is there anything that you'd like for breakfast."

"Me standard, if'n tha's all right," Hagrid said.

"Flapjacks, eggs and bacon coming up," Harry said. Hagrid agreed and watched how Severus was too busy watching him to make a decision. Harry glanced at the man and grinned when he noticed that the man was stunned. He just nodded his head and said, "I'll make us the same, all right, Professor?"

He looked back and saw that the man didn't even say a word, but was nodding only by reflex. He turned his attention back to the ingredients and the pans. He called for the largest pan and flash heated it. He added a large dollop of homemade butter and kept an eye out on it making sure that it coated the entire bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile another part of his attention was on a mixing bowl where the ingredients for the flapjacks were mixing and coming together to make a light fluffy batter. He turned quickly back to the pan and saw that the butter had fully melted and was turning a golden brown. He levitated twelve eggs over it, cracked them using magic and let the contents drop into the hot pan. Using magic to crack eggs was similar to being a chief that can do it with one hand, ensuring that no part of a shell ever fell into his recipe and the yolk remained whole.

He turned the heat down low, added various ground peppers to all of the egg, but only added some bits of sun-dried tomatoes on four of the eggs in the pan. He turned his attention back to the mixing bowl and called forth the flapjack pan. He made a fairly large stack in a short amount of time because he was using magic to flip them and quickly cook them.

He transferred everything when they had finished cooking onto warm plates that preserves the heat of the food until he finished cooking the bacon in the pan that had the eggs. He had added large zucchini slices to that same pan and once everything was in the plates, he set the timer on the back burner to begin the boil of the water after fifteen minutes had passed.

He levitated the plates and led the men to the room that they were currently using for their meals. Hagrid shook the Professor's shoulder in order to bring him out of the daze that he had been in and watched as the man walked into the room where his breakfast was waiting for him.

Severus looked down at the plate in front of him and saw that it had two eggs topped with sun-dried tomatoes, six strips of bacon, three small flapjacks and four large zucchini slices with pepper. He had never had such a breakfast. He looked up from his plate and noticed that Hagrid had a large stack of twelve flapjacks, eight eggs, twenty-four strips of bacon and six large zucchini slices.

'_It makes a strange sort of sense that he would need more food, but I don't think that I had ever noticed just how much more he needed,_' he thought.

He took a small bite of the eggs and another of the zucchini. Soon he was devouring the food like he had never done before. He ate like a civilized man, cutting everything and chewing to taste the flavour, but for some reason the combinations of the spices or something actually made him want to eat this meal.

He never had a problem eating before, but for some reason the food was excellent. That's when he noticed that it wasn't as bland as he was used to having. '_Now that's a question of what on Merlin's green earth happened?_' He wondered. '_Spice… I'm a Potions Master, I know about spices and such, but…_'

Severus then recalled the several times that he had observed the Boy-Who-Lived adding something to his meals in the Great Hall of the school. "Mr. Potter…" he began, but was interrupted.

"Sir," Harry said. "You're my guest here and I'm kind of hoping that you'd call me by my first name. I'm not in school now and I don't really want to be reminded of it until I have to go back."

"I'll consider it," the man said. "However I would like to know why you've been adding spices to your meals at the school?"

"Well I find some of them to be kind of bland," Harry told him honestly. "I'm so used to cooking that I tend to add flavours in everything that I make, but I'm careful with Hagrid's because some spices don't metabolize well with his system. I'm hoping to find out more about that."

"Ye'll be able ta read tha' book when I'm done with it," Hagrid told him. He then turned to the Professor and said, "I canna' eat much salty stuff 'n since 'Arry took a look at some o' me recipes 'e asked if 'e could try 'em out hisself. Made a few with changes tha' I liked, bu' some jus' couldna' be changed."

"Well they couldn't be changed with the spices I used, but that is not the limit to spices," Harry said. "There are other ingredients that can be changed in order to change the flavour. It's just that I haven't looked into that part yet." He looked at the professor and answered his question. "The food is made pretty bland or neutral tasting at the school. It's something that I can understand because there's no way to be able to cater to everyone's whims and a school shouldn't have to. It's not cost effective in the long run."

"I'll admit that I have not noticed it," Severus told them. "I might have, but I'm so used to eating the food at the school that sometimes I'm surprised that some things seem to have a bit too much flavour."

"Tha's because the house-elves don' have many taste buds," Hagrid informed the man. "They's been forced ta cook a certain way fer a long time tha' they's never thought ta change. Bu' I be thinkin' tha' 'Arry is showin' 'em somethin' differen'. Am I right?"

"Yep," Harry said. "I didn't want my elves to be limited and so we're beginning with little things. They let me cook breakfast and watch to see what I add and where. They can eat the same or else find another way, but this summer I cooked five different kinds of eggs with only one different spice in each and I asked them to cook the a plate of eggs the way they normally do. We taste tested them all and that's how we figured out that they can't taste certain spices, like garlic because it's too strong like pepper for them. They could barely taste salty stuff, but for some reason vinegar type flavours they enjoyed. Sugar was too sweet for them period. Different flavours of chocolate just confused them."

"Why would you even consider doing something like that?" His professor asked. '_No one that I know of in the Wizarding World ever think to have any house-elf taste test something._'

"That's how I learned to cook," Harry said. "If you want good food, you have to taste as you go, but if your taste buds are affected by something, like a cold for example, you wouldn't taste things like you normally do. Besides the various muggle races and cultures have their own tastes or flavours and most time prefer foods that are '_home cooked_' to the interpretation of another who change the flavouring because they didn't like it. Truthfully it was a fluke when I found out about it. I wanted them to taste the food before serving because they had added too much salt to a soup that they had made for me. They couldn't tell that they had done so. At least they could eat the soup without a problem and we're slowly finding out what they can cook without making a mess of it."

"Some house-elves are specifically employed in the kitchens, but how could they not know?" Severus wondered.

"They 'ad years o' learnin' 'n trainin' fer it," Hagrid told him. "The ones in the kitchens 'ave bin followin' recipes without changin' 'em fer years. Feasts 'n such are special, but they still work from verra specific recipes. Nothin' 'as changed fer 'em. If'n ye knows about a 'ouse-elf tha' can cook differin' foods, ye must look inta the 'istory of tha' elf. Because they be learnin' generationally passin' the good 'n the bad."

"That's what they told me," Harry said. "Most of my house-elves are workers due to the fact that many of the properties were farms or basically working properties. The ones that work out of doors know how to care for the livestock and others know how to process things, but cooking and baking takes specialty elves that need to be taught from their youth and that can be the only thing that they are ever taught. However they still can't be relied on to taste test to foods because they are that different from us."

"How are you going to solve that?" The man was curious and so was Hagrid.

"I told them not to spice or flavor the foods," Harry said. "I taught them how to cook the basic foods, like meat, potatoes, toast, eggs and such without adding any extra spices. They could add different vegetables and fruits to a certain degree, but not the spices. If I needed fancier foods, I'd either make them myself or else teach one elf what spices go where and when in that recipe. Not all elves like to cook either, but for now this is the more acceptable solution, until I can train up one for the kitchen work. They weren't offended by it."

"Onny' ye'd be worried about offendin' a 'ouse-elf," Hagrid observed. "Never change tha' about ye."

Severus looked at the boy with a thoughtful expression and knew that he had learned something that maybe only the privileged knew. '_Somehow I highly doubt that,_' he thought. '_There's no way that Lucius or any other had ever thought about elves in that manner. I wonder what they do about the cooking issue, if they happen to kill one of those elves._'

He sighed and then moved the conversation on to a topic he was not comfortable with. "Harry," he started. "Must I really dress, _casual_ in order to go into London?"

"It would help you to be able to walk or run if you were in pants and not robes," Harry said. "If you're really not that comfortable then… Umm…I gotta tell ya that only priests of a certain religious faith can get away with wearing robes out in the muggle public. If you wanted to use that disguise, it could cause a few problems, but that's about the only other option that I can see you using."

Severus blanched at that thought. There was no way that he would dress up in the faith of his muggle father. "No," he said. "Absolutely not… I will never dress in a faith that I don't respect, let alone believe in."

"Then you must at least try to wear some pants and a shirt like normal muggles," Harry said.

"'E can have some o' my old school clothes," Hagrid suggested. "They can be shrunk ta fit 'im. It'd take me only a moment ta go 'n get 'em 'n it'll give me a chance ta look in one Berta."

Harry nodded and handed him an exploding pouch of Auto-Floo. "Take your time," he said. "Hagrid?"

"Yes," the large answered.

"You know that cloak that you made me wear when we visited Diagon Alley," Harry asked. "I'm wondering if I could buy it from you."

"Arry," Hagrid said. "Ya don' need ta be buyin' it from me. Ye can 'ave it. It was one o' me old cloaks from me school days."

"Yeah, I know, but if I buy it from you then I won't feel guilty about cutting it up and changing it," Harry explained.

Hagrid looked at Harry's earnest face and relented, "All righ', but no more 'n two galleons."

"Thank you Hagrid," the boy said happy to get the cloak. He had plans for it and it was going to become his best friend once it was changed. "You take your time and make sure that Berta is all right. I'm going to be playing with my Ooey-Goey Gummy Kit, while we're waiting for you to return."

Hagrid nodded and made sure that the exploding Floo pouch was in his pocket and he went into the kitchen in order to use the general Floo in order to get to Mme. Rosmerta's Tavern in Hogsmeade. He would walk the rest of the way, but again for someone his size it wouldn't take long.

In the meantime Harry retrieved his box with the toy and returned to the room that they had eaten in. It was the one place that he was comfortable using for such things. The table and chairs supported his needs and it wasn't like he needed to that room in order to study. He opened the box and dumped the stuff out in order to have a look at it and read some of the instructions.

"Oh," he whined. "This will take too long to set up and begin."

"Perhaps," Severus said looking over a copy of the instructions in french and then he suggested. "Why not use magic to process some of this?"

"Because I don't know how this stuff will react to magic," Harry said. "Some stuff can work like pens and stuff, but these are made with chemicals that could react and I don't know what would happen when magic is used around it."

"Well, why don't begin with one thing at a time and test it out," Severus told him. "I'm curious to see how this would react. Do you mind if I help you out?"

"Okay," the boy said. "But I don't want to be blamed if it explodes and changes the colour of your hair."

"Do you honestly think that something like that would happen?"

"No," Harry replied. "I just really don't know what would happen. However most of this is calling for ice water, hot water and a few bowls to mix the stuff. I think that I will go change into something that I don't mind getting messed up. If you're going to be helping, maybe you should do the same."

"I have nothing like that," Severus confessed.

Harry was looking at the man and then he said, "Well if you don't mind wearing a bit of colour I have some materials that I can use to make you something."

The Potions Master blinked at that and then said, "What? What are you talking about?"

"I have an _Arca Doctrina_ too," the boy said. "I learned how to sew and tailor materials. I can follow some patterns and stuff. So I could make you some pants, but like I said they are coloured. Come on," he said. "I'll show what I mean."

Harry led the Potions Master upstairs and into a room that could only be described as a sewing room. It had everything that Madam Malkins' store, plus quite a bit more.

"See," he said pointing to a bolt of jean like material. Unfortunately, Harry was quite correct. It was a colour that Severus had never worn in his life, pale yellow. "I can make you a pair of pants with that material and it wouldn't matter what happened to them. I'd make you a loose button down shirt to match. It can be made in the same colour or with this."

He showed the man another bolt of the same material, but this time it was a dark blue. "Why can't you make the pants out of that material?" Severus asked.

"Not long enough," Harry said. "Here let me show you how I can make to look like patched affairs that are only good for crafts or for making a mess."

It wasn't too bad, but Severus would never be caught dead wearing it in public and he said so. "That's all right, Professor," Harry said. "You can leave it here for the next time you come to visit."

"Very well, go ahead," he told the boy. Harry pulled out his walking stick and his primary learning wand.

"Please stand on the stool," he instructed to his professor. Once Severus was up there, he watched the boy use both wands with expert ease. He called forth the tape measure and had another pen record the lengths of arms, legs, torso, inseam, outer seam, and a few other things until the tape didn't have to measure anything else. Because the magic was still animating it, it was whizzing around the room and measuring things, until Harry called out, "That will be enough."

His magic was marking the fabric, adding few extra inches in order to have an '_oops_' line, cutting the fabric and then sewing it together just like it was supposed. The pants were pale yellow with blue patches at the knees and back pockets with the same colour. The shirt was a button down because it was easier for removing when they made messes. It had two pale yellow breast pockets, a two tone collar with the upper part in the dark blue and pale yellow elbow patches.

It looked like a pair pajamas, but with the material that was used to make them, it was clearly an outfit that could be worn in public. '_Never_,' thought Snape. '_I can't wait to stain this with some other colour_.'

Harry had the man put on the outfit in order for the boy to be able to adjust the seams and front zipper. He was able to finish the entire thing in less then fifteen minutes. "I know what you're thinking," Harry said.

"I doubt that," the man replied.

"You're thinking that you can't wait to stain the outfit with another colour," Harry said. "You don't need to justify to anyone the reason why you're wearing that particular outfit. I'm going to put on mine and then we can go play with muggle toys and magic."

"Hurry up, then," Severus said. He walked out of the room and watched as Harry ran to his bedroom to change his clothing. It didn't take long, but when Harry returned he was wearing an outfit that matched his Professor's, but the colours were reversed.

Harry had dark pants with pale yellow patches and a pale yellow shirt with dark blue patches. Severus frowned, but listened as the boy told him that he had already made his outfit and proved to the man that his had been in used because there were brown stains on it.

"It's from the stains that we used this summer to re-finish some furniture," the boy explained. "I had purchased the bolts of cloth from the muggle world because when I was looking for something strong, but comfortable for working in, the Wizarding World could only offer up leather. I'm not ready to begin working with that so I got what I could. These were on sale. If you want we can look for more in other colours, so that you can have several outfits ready for use when you visit."

It wasn't long before the two of them were settled at the table. They went over the instructions and used their magic cautiously to work the muggle products. Severus soon was lost in the making of gummy spiders, while Harry was concentrating on making gummy worms. The man did notice that his movements were not restricted by any flowing robe.

"Uh, oh," Harry said as the gelatin was expanding beyond the plastic mold in a large bubble. It was reacting to the magic that he used to cool it down and suddenly it popped oozing slime. However the pop caused it to spray into the boy's face and his professor hair.

"Uh, oh," Severus said. It was like the magic set off a chain reaction and the gummy solution he was working on was doing the same thing that Harry's did only it was a lot bigger. Both their eyes widened.

Severus stopped the flow of magic into the process, but it was too late. Harry being the boy that he is: poked it with the stir stick, just as his professor said, "No don't…"

POW… Schloop… drip… drip... drip… FLASH… Whir… drip… drip... drip…

They were in shock that such a thing would explode. Most of it went up into the air and stuck to the ceiling, but soon it fell back onto the table. Bits of the stuff was dripping down from the ceiling, from their faces, hair, the table onto the floor. It was a mess.

Severus pursed his lips trying to stop the laughter that was about to escape at the boy's shocked expression. A snort made it past his mouth and the boy's on lips were twitching. One more look, both sets of twinkling eyes, sparked the other and they were off laughing.

Bing had gotten the camera at the first pop and had managed to get the whole thing in images. Those two were too busy laughing that they barely registered the other laughter in the room. Elly, Bing and Bong were twittering and giggling.

That's what Hagrid in on and he was shocked into laughter. "Ye used magic, didn' ye," he commented.

Severus and Harry tried to look guilty, but it didn't work. It just set out another round of laughter.

A little while later the house-elves were able to clean up the mess, the professor and Harry were able to clean the stuff out, but there was a consequence.

Harry's little pop contained green slime and when it landed in his hair it was still reacting to the magic, so now he had a completely dark green fringe (bangs) with a starburst pattern flowing towards the top of his head (i). Severus was lucky in that he was working with a black coloured gummy, but the lesson was well learned.

"Next time we do this in a controlled environment," Severus said.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "That way we can get a bigger bang."

"Brat," the man said not meaning any harm from it.

Harry was very much aware of that. Hagrid had returned with his old school clothes and among them there were a couple of suitable pants and shirts, but Harry was able to tailor them to his professor. Unfortunately the pants were dark brown leather pants (ii). The bonus was that they were well worn.

"Don't worry professor, I'll fix these up for you," he said. "You'll be fine with these in the Muggle World and they won't be noticeable in the Wizarding World."

Severus just sighed and said, "Get on with it."

Once again he was on the stool, but this time he had to put the clothes on inside out and soon tailor pins were flying at him. He held his breath and watched as Harry used the two wands again. It looked like the boy was dancing with his hands. The pins were set and soon scissors were moving at him to cut off the excess and after several more motion the clothes were sown up again. The shirt was still kind of loose, but Harry explained that it was better that way for that type of shirt.

He had his professor turn them back so that they were the proper side out. He had the man tie everything up. Soon there were more pins and sewing needles whipping about the air adjusting the length of the pants and adding a tuck or two on the back of the shirt to pull it a bit tighter.

Harry opened his eyes and whistled. "Wow," he said. "That really suits you."

His professor blushed until he called up a couple of mirrors. He was surprised. The pants fit him just fine and the shirt a little large, but it could still pass. All he needed was a winter jumper and a coat to match his pants, but that didn't matter.

"All you have to do is line your trench coat with a sheepskin liner and you'll be fine," Harry said. Severus called that coat to him and soon it looked thicker with a sheepskin liner. The buckles were adjusted at the wrists and Harry made sure that the liner went onto the collar of the coat. That was so his professor could pull it up if he needed to.

"I think that it's time to go," he told the boy.

Harry nodded and they went to say good bye to Hagrid. The large man didn't want to go with them, but he did remind Harry that he had to go to Gringotts first. Severus didn't want the other man to see him, but when he did he whistled too. "Lookin' good there, Sev'rus," he said. "Those never looked tha' good on me. Are they all right? Ye're not too uncomfortable are ye?"

"Not at all," Severus said. He blushed a bit at the compliment and didn't want to offend the man that often sent him items from the Forbidden Forest. "Thank you for them. I believe that they will be of use."

"Good then," Hagrid said taking another sweeping look. He coughed and said, "They two of ye have fun 'n don' forget ta bring explodin' pouches ta come home."

Harry went to get them and make sure that he had the list of places they needed to. (…Master…) Lux hissed.

Harry found her on a chair in front of the kitchen fire. (…Yes…) he replied.

(…Are you going to tell that dark haired man about me? Will we be able talk around him?...)

(…I'd tell him about you, but I don't know how he'd react. I don't really want to tell him that I can talk to snakes. Not just yet because I don't really want anyone knowing about that. Do you understand?...)

(…All right…) she hissed back. (…We'll respect your wishes. But let us know when we can talk to you again…)

(…You can always talk to me…) Harry said. (…It's just that I won't be able to answer you until we are alone in a secure place…)

(…Ok…) She said. (…Get us some more mice and we just might be able to forgive you…)

Harry laughed and said (…Of course, anything for you…)

He quickly returned to the men in the other room and said, "We can either take the General Floo into the Alley or take the Knightbus. This is your choice Professor."

The man just huffed and said, "We will be apparating Mr. Potter."

"Apparating?" He asked, looking at Hagrid.

"Ye need a license fer it," the large man explained. "Ye canna' apparate until yer seventeen or until yer a full adult in our worl', plus ye need ta take a tes' in order ta get a license."

"Oh, Okay," he said. He turned to the other man and asked, "What do we do?"

Severus motioned the boy to stand at his side. He placed his hand on Harry's should and said, "Just breathe."

Pop and away they went.

-----

Going to Gringotts was not fun for Severus and he wondered just how long Potter was going to take. He didn't want to encounter anyone that he knew there, but the boy just pulled him into the office of an estate managing goblin.

Severus just watched a few notes exchanged and he was surprised to see another goblin walk in with several straps of leather. "Mr. Potter, what are you doing? These were supposed to grow with you not lose their abilities or magics."

"I'm sorry, Risuslux," Harry said contritely. "But I have to take them off when I'm going for the Seasons Blessings. I'm not wearing them, but when I come back from the grove they just don't want to cooperate anymore."

"Crasgrasp," the older goblin chided. "You should have mentioned that the boy would be doing the ritual."

"Why?" The estate manager asked. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."

"It has when the ritual is honest," Risuslux said as if that explained anything. "This boy is sincere and honest about it. When have you ever felt, any other go through that and actually be honest in their petitions during that ritual. You should be feeling it through this boy."

"I've felt something, but I…" he paused. "You're right. None of the others had ever felt like this. How was I… Never mind. You're right I should have realized."

Risuslux turned to Harry and asked, "How far are you into this ritual?"

"Autumn and Winter," Harry said honestly. "May I ask why?"

The older goblin looked at the boy and said, "I cannot let you wear the camouflage ones until the ritual is complete. You'll have to go back to wearing the other types for the time being. I'll just go and get them."

"Oh," the boy said then he shrugged. He didn't care if the students knew about them or not. "Okay. I'm sorry, if I had known I would have exchanged them the first time or even before the beginning of the Ritual."

"That's all right, boy," Risuslux said. "You didn't know."

It didn't take long to change them and Harry still was able to carry everything that he normally did, but the pouches were back to their twenty galleon limit. Harry didn't mind because they were now linked to his income vault and he could pull out what he needed in the muggle world. "I won't have to come back after the Spring one will I?" He asked.

"No you should be fine," Crasgrasp said. "We found another book, but this time it's in Knockturn Alley at Borgin and Burkes. All you have to do is show this voucher and pick it up."

"I have the Professor with me and if not then I'll get Hagrid to pick it up for me," he said. "What do you say Professor? Feel up to taking the Boy-Who-Lived down a known Dark Alley?"

"Are you out of your mind Potter?" The man asked. "What could you possibly need down there?"

"A book I was looking for," the boy answered honestly. "Very well, then. How about taking, Jack Matthews?"

"Who?"

Harry pulled out the large cloak that was familiar to the goblins because Harry had been there to visit them in it. He then took out a salve and rubbed it into his scar. He pulled out three small vials and drank one after the other. The three in the office watched as the eyes changed from green to dark blue, he grew up about a foot and his hair changed to an orange red, growing down about a foot. He tied back and pulled a final salve and rubbed it on his throat.

"Gentlemen," he said with a cracking voice that obviously belonged to someone that had reached puberty. "Meet Jack Matthews." He bowed to all of them and then said to his shocked professor, "Now would you take me there?"

The man paused and said, "Do you have anything to change my voice and eye colour?"

"Yep," Harry said pulling six vials. "This will raise your voice an octave. This will lower it one that you'd sound like Hagrid and this one will keep it bland. These are green, grey and blue."

Severus was never one to use a potion that he hadn't made, but for Harry he would make the exception. He already knew that the boy could brew higher level potions, but he had to remain dumb in the subject. '_Again with the fronts,_' he thought swallowing the potion to change his eyes to a dark grey colour. '_That boy should really be in Slytherin House._'

"You rub that into you skin," Harry told him when he handed the man the potion that would drop his voice down an octave.

"How long will this last?" He asked his voice booming just like Hagrid's.

"Usually about half an hour," the boy told him. "You'll feel it itch for a bit and then it's over."

"All right then we'd better go," he said. "Will the voucher still work?"

The goblins told him that it would and that if they were to have any problems that Harry was to handle it his way. They grinned at the boy, who just grinned back and took out one knife. He began to flip it and Severus knew that they wouldn't be bothered in the Dark Alley because the boy looked at ease.

"Very well," he said bowing to the goblins.

Harry did the same and said, "Until next time."

Mr. Borgin had never met a scarier kid then this Matthews fellow. He wasn't afraid of the objects on display and the kid barely batted an eye at his implication that he had been expecting someone else. "Surely such assumptions can lead to disaster, Mr. Borgin," the kid said. "It'll hardly be my fault for damages do to a body if I don't get the item listed on this voucher."

"Are you threatening me young man?" The Dark shop owner asked.

"Didn't sound like a threat to me," Severus said. "That sounded more like it was going to be fact."

Harry turned his dark blue eyes to the man and stared at him without blinking for the longest time. His lips twitched into an evil grin and that decided the shop owner right then. "I've it right here," he said.

Harry opened the package, looked at the title, passed his hand over the book and opened it. He took his knife and pierced his thumb on it and ran it along the edges of the book. The book absorbed the blood.

Harry said one word, "Meus." (mine) He exhaled a breath onto the pages and whispered the word again. "Meus," he said. He petted the cover and spine, saying one last time. "Meus liber." (my book)

He grinned at the shop owner. "Thank you for your services," he said tucking the book into a hidden pocket and walked out. His professor had watched all of that and followed him out.

"You are full of surprises young man," he said. He received a cheeky '_Thank you_', in a voice that cracked. He snorted and said, "Can we leave this alley now?"

"Yes, of course," Harry said.

-----

In London they had fun pushing and shoving other shoppers out of the way in order to get the things that they wanted. Harry wanted to replace his '_Gummy Kit_' and Severus wanted one of his own. He did convince the boy to get more bolts of the cloth in dark, dark blue and black colours. Harry didn't mind, he was even able to pick up some dark, blood red jean-like material too.

Harry showed the man the street vendors and the pieces that he had made. Severus thought that they were good, but wondered why the boy didn't open up a shop to sell them. It was then that he explained that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the demands. Too many people wanted them and he had to be careful. He had two people that he trusted to pass the goods on, but that was going to stop soon too because it was getting a bit dangerous in that section of town.

"What do you mean?" Severus asked.

Harry looked around and then pointed out three fairly large looking youths. "Do you see the boys with the red bandanas at the end of the block?"

"Yes," the Potions Master said. "What about them?"

"Come on," Harry said, tugging at the man to leave the area. When they were walking away, Harry explained that they were known members of a gang. "Territorial wars occur on the streets," he said. "My vendors are neutral, but they did say that they were feeling the pressure on this corner. I told to let me know when they move. They had already moved several times in order to avoid being pressured to enter a gang."

"But… I don't understand," Severus told him.

"It does matter," Harry said. "I can't let the gangs know that I'm here or else they'd want the maker of those pieces under their thumbs. I've been lucky so far, but I'm not going to push it. Let's just get on with the rest of our list."

Severus nodded, but declared that he wanted to know more. Harry told him that they could take the time to go through some of the periodicals for that information and they put off that conversation for later.

In the toy store Severus went nuts. He purchased three of every wind up toy and two slinkys of his own. "I want to test them," he said when Harry looked at him. The walked down the aisles and when they arrived at the puzzles and games, Harry picked up the same ones that he had purchased for the Gryffindor common room.

"I want to have my own set at home," Harry said when his professor asked him why he wanted to get more since he obviously had the same at the school. He even picked up tons of puzzles, a couple of puzzle savers and special puzzle glue. There were some that he thought he might want to preserve. He chose plenty of 100 and 500 piece puzzles. He then carefully selected four puzzles that had over 1000 pieces just because he liked the pictures.

"Will you do some of these while I'm still around?" Severus asked.

"Of course," Harry said. "Now let's get the paints and lastly the perfumed oils."

Walking into the hardware store and pulling a cart was not something that Severus was used to, but Harry told him to make sure that the cart had sturdy wheels. They were fine. Once they were down the paint Severus was overwhelmed by the colours available. The ranges were impressive.

"Do you mean that these are not the only possible ones?" He asked the boy.

"Yep," Harry said. "See this one says limited time only, which actually means that the bases for these colours are only available for a limited time. You could another base, but the result would not be the same."

He looked down the aisle and then began to pile can upon can in the cart. Ten cans of one particular base and twenty of another. He then walked up to the paint counter where the man was bored. '_Who wants to re-paint their home during the holidays,_' he was thinking.

He would soon regret it because Harry went to select three swatches of the '_new_' colours and demanded that they be mixed. The ten cans were separated into two different colours, five cans each. The twenty other cans were equally separated into five cans of the same colour. The poor clerk had to use four machines to mix the paint. He made sure that they were all mixed to the same colour. He placed the formula on the top of the can with a dab of the colour on the top.

As soon as he was done that he quit his job, it was only a part time thing for the winter, but he knew that these two would be back for more. He never wanted to see another can of paint in his life.

Severus obligingly shrank the cart and all the cans of paint. "Now," he asked.

"A moment," Harry said going into the grocers to by a small can of ground coffee. When he came out he said, "Now."

He watched with amusement, as Severus hailed a cab, by putting two fingers in his mouth and whistling. He laughed and got in next to the excited man. Harry gave the cabbie the first address and then asked if the man wanted to make some extra money today.

Of course the cabbie did. "Keep the meter running. We have two other locations to go to," Harry said. "You'll be well rewarded."

In the first store Severus was inundated by the smells. It was a perfumery. There were a lot of brands and different versions like '_eau de toilette_' versus true '_perfume_'. However he went to the ones that interested him and then he took all of the ones that were interesting.

Harry had agreed to pay for everything again, but this time his professor was going to pay him back by helping the boy to advance his learning in the field of potions. He was going to let the boy move onto the second year syllabus without telling any of the other teachers. He was already sworn to secrecy anyway, this was just one more that he would keep to himself.

Quickly they paid for everything and put the bags in the trunk of the cab. It was a repeat of everything from the first shop, except the second shop claimed to sell only natural products. In the third one Severus was in heaven because they sold a plain base that could have other scents added to it to change it into another product. He bought several of the bases and bought quite a few of their pure oils.

Since the shop was not doing so well they allowed the sale of the bases without mixing and they went into their back rooms and storage room in order to seek out the pure unmixed oils. They were the ones that didn't sell so well and seeing how much the dark hair babe in leather pants wanted them. They agreed to a price and Harry paid cash for the whole deal.

"This is perfect," the dark hair man said. They were back at the cab and had him drive to the block with the Leaky Cauldron. Harry paid the man his fare plus two hundred to ignore them after the trunk of his cab was closed.

The man shrugged and didn't think there was anything wrong with that request. He pointedly ignored them. He made sure that his eyes were never focused on them. That was re-enforced with a little forget me charm that Severus sent through the cab after he shrank he purchases and placed them in his pockets.

They walked into the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry called out to Tom the barkeep. "Just the Floo today," he said tossing two silver sickles onto the counter.

"Have a good day now," Tom told them as he pocketed the sickles.

They didn't have to pay because they had their Auto-Powder, but it was still a connected Floo, so basically they just tipped the man for the use of it.

-----

Hagrid had spent most of his time in his Arca that day and was happy to see them return safe and sound. "'Arry, Sev'rus," he said happy that they were back. "'Ow did it go. Were ye able ta fin' everrathin' tha' ye wanted?"

"More than that, Hagrid," Severus told the man. "Lot's more than what we wanted."

"It's true," Harry said. "I'm just to put some of the stuff away right now."

"Me too," Severus said. He walked out of the kitchen, but caught a reflection on the bottom of a copper pot, of the gamekeeper watching him walk away. He blushed at that, but didn't hurry his steps in the least.

'_They're just clothes_,' he thought. '_Clothes can NOT make that much of a difference. It's just not possible. Maybe I should change my clothes, but after walking in these all day, they feel like they belong to me now._' He didn't know what to do about it.

"Professor," Harry said. "Is there something wrong?"

"Can clothing change a person?" He asked completely serious about it.

Harry blinked and felt that this might be an adult kind of conversation, but the man was looking for honesty from him. "Yes," he said with certainty.

"How?" The man asked confused.

Harry really looked his Professor and noticed that his cheeks were pinky. '_He must be embarrassed, but I know how to show him_,' he thought. '_Luckily I still a few of Dudley's old things._'

"Come with me," he said. He led the man up to his bedroom and pulled out the clothing that his Aunt and Uncle had forced him to wear. "Sit down. I'll try and explain. First take a good look at me and my clothes. What do you see?"

"The Boy-Who-Lived," Severus said without hesitation.

Harry huffed and said, "Ignore that. Pretend for a moment that I'm not the Boy-Who-Lived. Look at my clothes. Look at my hair," Severus did which caused him to snort because the green was still there. "I know, but look at it from a stranger's perspective. My clothes are sturdy, but they are not new. My trainers are well used and my hair is a mess."

"Very well," the Potions Master said. He truly looked at the boy and then thought that upon first impression. "You look well fed and care for, even if you look a little like you're on the skinny side. Your forearms are covered with protective gear, which could be a look thing. Even with those glasses you don't look very intelligence."

Harry raised an eyebrow, but allowed the man to continue looking at him. When he was done looking, the boy told him to wait a moment. He grabbed the change of clothes, went into the loo and put on some of Dudley's old stuff. He walked back out, but this time his head was down and he was shuffling his feet.

Severus looked at the boy and saw someone completely different. This was the Harry Potter that came to the school and gave everyone there the impression that he was a little waif of a child. He looked pitiful and weak. "You still don't look like you have any intelligence," he said.

Harry just stuck out his tongue at the man. Then he said, "Now tell me what you see."

"An underfed boy," the man began. "Your clothes don't fit and they make you look smaller. You don't look like you have much confidence and it looks like you're afraid that someone is going to hurt you."

Harry nodded and once the man was done, he took a last set of clothing into the loo. When he came back out Severus was shocked at the changed look. The other two times the boy look unassuming, but now he looked dangerous. Harry was wearing black leather pants with a black shirt that fit. His bracers stood out on his arms, but even more so were the ones on his legs. They were visible to see.

"Now what do you see," Harry said asking the man to find the truth.

Severus was honest. "You look dangerous, even though you're just a boy. There is a difference in the way that you move in each different set of clothing. Why?"

"That's just how it is," Harry said. "In my regular, mended looking clothing, I'm like a regular boy who can be embarrassed some of the time. In my cousin's stuff, which was what I had to wear for a long before I met Hagrid, I _was_ the underfed boy. The one that had to be careful of how I talked and what did. In these, these are just for fun at the moment. I'm just testing them, but imagine a Harry Potter who came to school wearing these from very beginning. Would I have had friends or maybe I would have been watched more?"

Severus sighed. It did explain a lot, but it did not clear his dilemma. Harry had left the room to change back into his everyday stuff. "Sir," Harry said getting the man's attention.

"Could we go to your room now?"

The Potions Master frowned wondering what the boy was up to. He nodded because he was curious to see what the boy would do.

Harry conjured up a large mirror and had his professor face it. Then he said, "Close your eyes for a moment. Now think about this. There is a man in front of you that you have never seen before. You don't know a thing about him, but just looking at him he impresses himself upon you and you must say the very first things that come out of your mouth. No thinking. Do it now."

Severus opened his eyes and the first thing that he said was, "He looks good in leather. He doesn't seem at ease, like he's nervous, but there's something about him that calls to the eye. He could be good or bad and you wouldn't it to look at him."

He looked at Harry who nodded. The boy also had to add something that made him uncomfortable, but coming from Harry he felt the truth. "To some people this person is sexy, good-looking and what did that lady say in the last store we were in?"

"She said something?" The man asked because he had been to busy with the oils and scents to care about whoever else was there at the time.

Harry gave a small laugh and then he imitated the women. He looked to a standing lamp and said fanning himself in an exaggerated manner. "What I wouldn't do to get me a piece of that dark voiced god." He turned to another angle and said, "Oh honey, you know that a man like that has got have someone looking out for those bun-cakes." He turned back to his original position and said, "A girl can dream can she…Oh, yummm…"

Harry raised his eyebrows to the man and watched as the man's cheeks turned scarlet. He didn't say a word and he didn't laugh. It wasn't a laughing matter and he could see that his professor was not comfortable with the whole situation.

"Why don't you go and put on what you normally do for school?" Harry told him. "We'll do the exercise again." That interval would allow the man some time to compose himself.

Harry covered the mirror and watch as his Professor Snape strode back into the room with confidence and ire. He waited a moment before walking the man through the steps with his eyes closed. He pulled the cloth away from the mirror and listened to the Professor say, "This man is dangerous, he has confidence and there is a no nonsense attitude. You don't want to cross this man."

"Vampire of the dungeons," Harry quipped, which earned him a glare, but he just pointed to the mirror.

Severus noticed the look that he had just sent the boy and wondered, what happened and when. He blinked he saw mild confusion and it looked like he was lost. Harry took his hand and pulled him to one of the chairs. He made sure that the mirror was covered because he had a feeling that the man had just witnessed something he had never seen before.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Professor Snape made an appearance," Harry said.

A voice boomed up the stairs calling out, "Arry… Sev'rus… It's time fer supper."

Harry went to the doorway and shouted, "We'll be down soon."

"Righ' ye are," Hagrid said.

Severus looked at the boy and stated, "You like Professor Snape." Harry nodded. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Harry asked. "I just do. Do I really need to list reasons?"

"No, of course not, but now I don't know what to do," the man confessed.

"Just be yourself," Harry said. "You're a strong man, who takes no non-sense from anyone. You're clothing does not make you who you are. It could change the way that you act, but only if you let it. I'm not the just the Boy-Who-Lived, I'm Harry Potter. A boy whose parents died because a madman believed something... You are a man that has choices and it doesn't matter what you wear, I still like you." Harry's stomach rumbled and that made him look down and say, "Quiet you, I'm having a very serious discussion with my Professor."

Severus smiled at the boy's antics and that's when he realized that the boy has been constantly calling him sir or professor. He did notice that the few times that he was called Snape was when the boy was in school with his friends and he was only aping them. In all other respects, Harry still called him Professor or Sir, no matter what he wore.

"I think that we had better go downstairs before Hagrid comes up to fetch us," he said to the boy.

Harry look at his professor, grinned and said, "Too late. He's listening at the door. Right Hagrid."

"No." A reply was heard from just outside the door. "Umm…" They heard the heavy steps walking away and muttering of, "I shouldna' said tha'… I shouldna' said tha'…"

Harry smiled at that and looked at his professor. "He meant no harm, sir. He's was just worried. Why don't we go down and tell him that everything's all right?"

Severus wondered if he should change, but the boy never said anything about putting on the other clothing and truthfully he was comforted by his regular apparel. "Very well," Severus said. "Let's go."

-----

Down in the kitchen where the nook had been completed that day the meal was set up. Hagrid was sitting comfortably for the first time since he's been in this house. He hoped that they weren't going to have to move.

He didn't. Elly went to Harry and Severus to inform them that the nook was ready and that they were having a meal there in order to christen the new eating spot.

"Really," Harry said excitedly. Receiving the confirmation, he ran down the rest of the stairs and told his professor to hurry up and that it was going to be so cool to sit at a Hagrid sized table with Hagrid sized chairs.

Curious, Severus hurried along and found that the large man was seated in a chair made just for him. He looked at the size of the table and noted that the chairs for the humans had steps in order to be able to sit at the table comfortably. His only comment was, "This is different."

Hagrid had cooked the meal and he had prepared it just like the house-elves do with barely any flavour, but he knew that Harry would share with them the spices that he was fond of.

-----

For the rest of Professor Snape's visit they spent some time playing with Harry's toys, some time in the Library just reading companionably and some time in Harry's potions lab trying to find a good set up that can be altered, as he grew.

They did go into the muggle town of Potter's Bar and there Harry introduced his professor as his friend. The planetarium thing fell through because they only had so much time and Harry knew that his professor was currently more interested in the muggle library then he was in going someplace new. He just felt that their outing on Boxing Day was enough for his professor to want to go back to his dungeons and just brew potions for a while.

Harry showed his professor how to access the '_questionable_' books in his library. He had them behind a secret door and in a hidden study. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of the older families with huge manors had rooms like this," Harry told him. He called the book with the multiple Treatises in it. "Just remember, this thing is really awful, but I just had to know where human bezoar came from."

He left Severus in the little study and told Elly to keep an eye out on the man. In the mean time, Harry went down to his lab in order to replenish the changes potions had he had used in the Alley. Hagrid had left them just the day before. It seems that Berta was having a difficult time, but Harry knew that the half-giant would be all right.

------

Soon it was time for Severus to return to the school and most of his adult duties. "I had a fun time here Mr. Potter," he said shaking the boy's hand.

"I'm glad that you came," the boy replied. "You have an open invitation for the Easter week. I know that a couple us on this land will be expecting you."

The Potions Master smiled at the boy and said, "You have a deal. I left a few of my clothes behind. I hope that you don't mind."

"Not at all," Harry said. "They'll stay in your rooms until you return and can learn to be at ease wearing them."

"Imp," the man said. He stepped into the fireplace, dropped the general Floo and called out, "Madam Rosmerta's Tavern, Hogmeade."

Harry watched the flames die down. His house-elves gathered near him and Tertia slithered up his body in order to wrap herself around his shoulders. They were watching and he told, "This was the first time in my life that I had a great Yule holiday and I can't tell anyone about it."

----------------------

**TBC...**

(i) Think Hiei from Yu-Yu Hakusho

(ii) From the books I have always had the impression that the students did NOT wear uniforms because of book one page 83. On the train to Hogwarts they only put black robes over their regular everyday clothes because Ron has trainers on his feet. Plus there is no mention of uniforms in the Hogwarts letters, just _**three plain work robes (black)**_. I think that the video games support that theory too, but I'd have to play them again (later).


	10. Chapter 9

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis or __**Direct quotes, plus semi-direct quotes**_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

----------------------

Chapter Nine

----------------------

**Year 1 – Part five of five!**

Platform nine and three quarters was filled with students returning from the Yule holidays. For some reason only the '_Hogwarts Express_' was permitted to be used on such occasions. It was strange, but then Harry thought that it must be because the location is centralized. He sometimes couldn't understand _why_ the students could only take the train. It wasn't like other alternatives didn't exist in order to get to the school.

A lot of the students were staring at him and his hair. The colour suited Harry, but it was the fact that it was green, which for some reason they all thought that it embodied a Slytherin mind-set. There were whispers about it going up and down the platform. Harry chose to ignore them and found a seat on the train.

The students all returned to the school from their Yule holidays. When Ron found him, it was one of the first things that the boy asked, "What in Merlin's name happened to your hair?" Which was quickly followed by, "Were you able to go see those movie things that you wanted to see?"

Harry told him yes that he was able to see a few movies and that his cousin did this to his hair because he was a brat. That was as far as Ron wanted to know. His friend obviously wasn't hurt and he figured that Harry would love to hear what happened on his holiday. So blathered on about his trip to Romania and how his mother liked that Harry had sent a thank you letter.

"You didn't have to do that you know," he said. "She likes doing that stuff like that."

"That's not her sole purpose for doing that," Harry countered. "I was very surprised to have received the gift and it's obvious that she put some time into making it. Of course I had to thank her. I really appreciated the gift."

"Bah," Ron said. "Her stuff is not always that great. I mean mine is always a maroon colour and I hate that colour."

"Why don't you just tell her?" Harry said. "I'm sure that she'd understand."

"Nah," Ron said. "I tried a couple of times, but it didn't work." Then he continued on to tell Harry about all of the fun he had because for some reason he thought that his vacation would provide the Boy-Who-Lived with something better think about.

It did give Harry something else to think about, but it wasn't something better. Ron was beginning to repeat himself for the third time, so Harry was kind of grateful when Hermione came into their compartment and joined them. She too asked about his hair and the movies that he had seen. "Thank you, Harry," she said. "I loved your gift."

"Really," Harry asked. "Well that's good because I caught a nasty cold this year and pulled something in my throat. The doctor said that I can't sing anymore, so you better protect your gift."

Hermione was shocked, but now realized that she had something very precious and very valuable. "I will Harry," she said.

"What did you give her?" Ron asked.

"I gave her a record of me singing," he said. "It's the only one of its kind," he lied, but it was also the truth.

It was the only one of its kind in the muggle world and there's no way that it could ever be copied. He made sure of that. If she tried to make copies of it, it would melt and disappear, returning to Harry. If she tried to sell it, it would never exchange hands because it would disappear before the transaction could even be completed and it would return to Harry.

He didn't want them to know that he had made something else that worked in the Wizarding World. "I figured that you must have had an old record player or at least maybe your parents did."

"Yes they did," she confirmed. She was happy to know that he had done as she had suggested and recorded his voice.

'_That was almost too easy,_' she thought. '_He's got nothing in between his ears. The Headmaster was quite right. He needs some guidance. I'm just glad that I'm getting paid for it. Maybe later I can sell the record in order to get more money. The value of that would rise after he hits puberty and I know that I'll need lots of money for University._'

-----

The recording that he had made for the Wizarding World had to be very specific. He had Crasgrasp help with that. Ever since Hermione's comments it was something that he had been thinking about.

Harry knew that in order to get the fruit from the Blessing Ritual, he had to offer something of himself to the fairies and he kind of figured that the price they would ask of him was to _never_ sing again. However, they only requested that he never sing for the next three years, which was far more generous then he had been expecting.

The Wizarding World in the past and present had used different methods to record voices. Harry was looking for a specific method that would preserve his singing and voice, in such a way that it could never be re-copied. He discussed several methods by correspondence. There were such methods like using crystals and other stones to hold the voice.

There was also the _Water-Ball_ method, which preserved the voice in a ball of water that could be activated by tapping the holding glass. It was similar to preserving a voice inside a precious stone or crystal. The voice or song is trapped in a crystal and then when you want to listen to it you tap it with your wand to activate it. The only problem with both methods is that it only allowed for a limited number of recordings.

Another way was to have a portrait painting done (i). This was the method suggested by Crasgrasp as his explanation was that it couldn't be duplicated after it had been done. The lack of duplication was very good thing about the portrait method, but another that had him sold was the fact that the painter or artist had to follow the strictures of Magical Law.

Personal and private portraits could be commissioned. However, the artist or painter could never mention the name of any person that commissioned them for a portrait, especially if that person didn't want that information disclosed. The Magical Law stated that they would lose their rights to paint magical portraits for four years and then they would have to be re-bound to the Laws of Image Duplication.

Needless to say, Harry had written to Walker Montrose looking for information on the Laws of Image Duplication and about getting Portraits done. He was referred to another Lawyer from the same firm because that one specialized in that kind of Law. He had the woman vetted by the goblins first before continuing his questions.

She explained that a portraitist had to follow his client's wishes otherwise they'd lose their money and their reputation for discretion. She's the one that mentioned that some were further bound by an Oath of Secrecy by clients depending on the level of secrecy that the client's requested. She had responded honestly to all of his questions.

In the end he had the goblins find him a reputable portraitist that was willing to be bound by an Oath of Secrecy prior to accepting the commission. Meaning that they wouldn't say who wanted the portrait until the artist had to accept the commission or contract without knowing whom it was for. Once the contract was set then the artist was once again bound by an Oath of Secrecy to the one who wanted their portrait done.

Harry had booked the artist for the first week of the Yule Holidays. Luckily this year the students were released December 19th and they only had to return on the fifth of January. He promised a high commission to the artist for accepting to do it during the holiday time. It was accepted through a contract finalized by his Lawyer and witnessed by his estate manager.

There were several artists that were familiar with this process and they were fully aware that many privileged people wanted portraits to preserve something... The artist that was finally sworn to secrecy on Harry's behalf was completely shocked to see the Boy-Who-Lived was the one that commissioned his services. When the situation was explained that artist understood something about this boy that no one in the world did at the moment.

He was entirely unique among their kind.

As with every portrait, there were step-by-step explanations about the process and how it works. Most of the people didn't care about the process, but Harry listened to every detail because he was interested. The artist asked about theme, about poses, about the items that Harry would like in his portrait.

He made sure that when the spell for the voice to be added to the image, he captured his speaking tones and singing tones. This was his first singing portrait, but his magics were geared for it and were able to compensate for his needs. He had to watch Harry go through a few songs in order to capture part of the spirit in the boy when he sang. His freedom and his movements were all part of it too.

The final piece was nothing like any portrait the artist had ever done. It was huge, at least eight feet tall by twelve feet wide. The reason for this was because of all of the items that had been added to the portrait or painting. It showed an entire room, instead of a seated image.

A boy was sitting on the floor and he had several things around him. There was an Arca, with lots of panels, in the background to the right, leaning against the wall. There were several toys that the artist added at the whim of the boy. They were brightly coloured, but they fit the image.

The boy had bits of cloth, pins, scissors and sewing needles everywhere. There were also gems and different metals together in a bin with tools to do things with them. The tools were to melt and shape the metals.

There was an easel just to the left side with a painting that was barely even started. In the lower right there was a table with ink, books and papers, like this was his playroom, study or something. Under the easel legs, the artist never understood this part of the request, but he painted it just the same. He added a coiled Coral Runespoor to the boy's specifications. The boy even had a coloured image of the three-headed snake that he wanted to add, it was given the artist to assist him, in what the snake should look like.

The boy in the painting was comfortably dressed in everyday clothes, which surprised the artist, but that was Harry's request. "I want it to look natural," he told the artist.

It was the most natural painting that he had ever done. Once the final spell was said to seal the image and lock it in, Harry breathed on the portrait of himself, as instructed. He let four drops of blood fall onto his image and onto each of the corners of the portrait canvas. He pulled out a vial and added the same to the runespoor and the portrait corners.

They watched as the boy came to life and to the artist's surprise, so did the snake. He thought that it was going to only be a stuffed toy. He was wrong. Harry couldn't leave Tertia out of any painting. The artist called for a test and so the boy in the painting began to speak, sing, move about and pretty become as animated as it was supposed to be.

Harry was surprised at how his voice sounded, but he could appreciate the fact that it was now preserved forever. He did ask the portrait about its feelings and the portrait laughed explaining, "I feel like you do right now. I will never grow up and never change. I think that I'm happiest right here. You don't have to worry about me. We are what we are. I'm just a painted copy of you, as you are at this moment."

The boy paid the man for his completing the portrait and then he gave him a generous tip for adding his little whims. "It's quite all right," the artist told him. "This is one of my best and most unique pieces. I know why you asked for the Oath and I'm glad to have received your protection in return, as I wouldn't want to accidentally or forcibly tell anyone about this. Perhaps when I get older and am near my death bed, you'd permit to see this once more."

Harry verbally agreed with the words, "If it's feasible and no one else will see it, I'd be happy to let you look at this portrait for one more time."

-----

"Harry wake up," Hermione said. "You have to put on your robes." She sounded irritated.

"I wasn't asleep," he said.

"No you were just staring out of the window lost in space," she complained. "You didn't pay attention to a word we've been saying."

"Yeah, mate," Ron said. "You even missed the trolly cart lady."

The redhead was upset about that because the last time they had been on the train Harry had bought a bunch of stuff that he had shared. He thought that the Boy-Who-Lived would be doing that again.

"Sorry guys," he told them, ducking his head to look like he was embarrassed about not paying any attention. He wasn't though and he knew why Ron was upset. He wasn't deaf because he had heard the boy's stomach rumbling.

'_It's not my job to feed him,_' he thought. '_I know that his mum packed him a lunch and if he was that hungry he should have eaten it._'

They walked back into the school and into the Great Hall for a welcome back meal. Hermione was getting excited because she was back at school and she could use her magic. She was looking forward to spending lots of time in the library and studying.

Ron was back to talking to Harry about chess and Quidditch that is until the food was served. The others boys were talking about their holidays. Harry was paying attention to them more then to Ron, but it seemed that the red-headed boy didn't notice because he was too busy eating.

Harry made sure to ask questions about their holidays in order to stop Hermione from beginning her own speeches about classes and the need to study. He liked the girl, but he wished that she would sometimes shut up too. He hasn't had a moment's peace since getting on the train, not since the two of them sought him out.

'_Next time I'm going come back to the school another way or I'm going to find a way to spend the next train ride in my __**Arca**__,_' he thought.

After the Welcome Back meal, the students all returned to their common rooms and dorms in order to get ready for the next semester of classes and get to bed.

Harry decided to use his new '_invisibility cloak_' that night in order to get a feel for wandering the corridors in the night. He choose to sleep in his Arca for two real-time hours and feeling refreshed after his six-hour nap, he began exploring the seventh floor. He had plans to sketch some of the school's corridors because he wanted to get to know his parents' through the mural images that he was very familiar with.

First he needed to familiarize himself with the corridors around the Gryffindor's tower. Next was one floor down. He hoped to have several working sketches by the time he had to return to Tertia's Way for the Easter Break (March Break for near everyone else of another religious domination).

When he was done, he returned to his Arca in order to plan out the rest of the following semester of lessons. He needed to adjust a few things in order to be able to study the second year potions that Professor Snape had told him to study. He had been given a self-study list with a list of essays to produce for the man. He was to hand in his essays at the same time that the first years handed in their regular work.

Harry had a keen mind and an understanding of many things now, but he also knew that he didn't feel a draw to potions like his Potions Master Professor. He sincerely hoped that the man wouldn't be disappointed that Harry would not seek out Mastery in that subject. He had plenty of time before mentioning anything to the man.

Night after night he explored the corridors, empty rooms and semi-empty rooms. There were many interesting things in some of these rooms, but the weirdest was that mirror, "_**Erised**__..._" something or other. He thought that it was magical, but it turned to be a dud because his reflection was only delayed and there was nothing special that he could see about him wandering about the school in socked feet and pajamas.

A few weeks later he returned to a few of the rooms, including the one that had a mirror that delayed reflection, but he noticed that it had been moved. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to explore the less used corridors of the castle.

During the day he struggled with his lessons like all other first years. He made sure his school work was done at the right level for a muggle-raised non-magic knowing Boy-Who-Lived. Friday afternoons he left Ron and Hermione to their own devices and he left the school to help Hagrid in his duties after which his two friends would seek him out at Hagrid's hut around three in the afternoon. That was the time that had been established when they could find their friend there.

Sometimes they had tea and sometimes they didn't. It was during one such occasion that they found out about '_Fluffy_' and about '_Nicolas Flamel_'. Of course the poor man immediately began to say that, '_He shouldna' said that,_' but Harry had the feeling that his guardian wanted him to know. Just as they were leaving the hut, Ron and Hermione in the lead, Harry turned back and got a quick wink from the large man.

'_A puzzle that needs to be solved then,_' he thought. '_It's obvious that Hagrid knows about it, but someone obviously prodded him to tell it to us._'

Harry didn't like that, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Meanwhile, he kept up regular correspondence with his elves and with his estate manager. His plans for converting the castle would take quite a lot of time. Crasgrasp was able to find reliable people to test the foundation and structure of the place first. A few things would need to be torn down and a few others would need complete replacement.

Harry was pleased about the whole thing, but there were a couple of costs that would go through the roof. Plumbing and electricity needed to be planned out and installed. It seems that the last upgrade that the place had was copper pipes hidden in decorative paneling in order to have fuel for the oil lamps lining the hallways and in most of the rooms.

This gave Harry a few ideas, but since he was being watched at the school he put the whole thing on hold for the moment. He did give instructions to the goblin to find someone that could copy oil lamps for an electric replacement. He also told the goblin that he needed several huge canvas tents set up in order for the furniture to be re-furbished by hand on that property. The other option was the repair the stables in the area, which was something that Crasgrasp suggested.

He needed to re-inspect the place to be sure about the next step to take in repairing it.

-----

It wasn't long after that Hermione figured out who Nicolas Flamel was. He was one of the only Wizards to have successfully created the '_Philosopher Stone_'. Now it was obvious to Harry what was going on.

After a while there was another bit of adventure that they couldn't help, but stumble into. Hagrid had acquired a dragon egg. Harry got the shells and shared them privately with Professor Snape.

However, poor half-giant couldn't even keep the little thing, but at least Ron's brother had been able to take him to the colony in Romania. Harry painted the man a picture of the hatching, which the large man proudly displayed in his hut.

"Thank ye," Hagrid said hugging his magical ward. "I'll put it righ' 'ere so's I can see 'im. I'm sorry ye got detention, but at least it'll be with me."

"With you?" Harry asked. He had only stopped by to give the man the painting because he needed to get to Quidditch practice.

"Ye'll see, now ye run along and get ta practice," Hagrid said.

"See ya later," Harry said, running out of the door. He ran to the Quidditch pitch and soon was going through a few speed exercises that Wood had told him would help him improve his stops and starts.

Their detention was something else, seeking out a unicorn that had been injured. Harry was stuck with Malfoy and Fang. Malfoy complained the entire time, until they both saw a ghostly dark shape leaning over a unicorn. Then the little blond boy screamed like a girl and took off running.

Harry had tripped over a root and couldn't get back up because his robes were getting in the way. "That's it," he muttered to himself. "There has to be something else that I can wear outside that's less dangerous."

He was very much aware of the danger. His scar was burning, but he was able to ignore the pain and he had managed to stand in time to see the dark ghost drift over to him. He pulled out his wand, but suddenly a four-legged creature fended off the thing and soon it sounded like he was being lectured by the centaur named _Firenze_.

Harry didn't mind it this time because he had just learned something else about unicorn blood and the fact that someone was using it to try and maintain their life-force. They were biding their time until they could get to the philosopher stone to come back life for real.

Firenze carried him to where Hagrid was, but there were two other centaurs, Bane and Rowan. Bane was pissed that Firenze had allowed a Human to ride him like a beast of burden.

After that adventure, Harry had more things to think about, but he had other friends in the school and he was still busy with regular school work. March Break was just around the corner and he couldn't wait to get away for a week.

-----

**Easter Break (March Break)**

It may have been only a week long break after some intense exams, but to Harry it was the most fun filled and work heavy week. He had managed to copy the little charm bracelet for the fairies. He looked around the Wizarding and Muggle Worlds and found a few varieties of daisies, dark ones, just like the Queen had requested.

He personally grew them in his Arca's greenhouse, which was connected to his potions lab and kitchen. It was one of the few features which could accelerate the growth of a plant, if he wanted to. He didn't, as that was one panel that he didn't need to use frequently.

Professor Snape had told him, more than once, in front of the potions class that he was abominable at them. So now he was to meet up with him twice a week in order to prove that he could produce passable potions. No one else knew, but Harry had been tested and was now halfway into the third year potions syllabus.

Malfoy enjoyed the fact that Harry was in trouble. He smirked at Harry who just looked back at him with no interest. There didn't seem to be anything that Draco could do to gain Harry's attention. He wanted to fight with the boy, but it wasn't working.

It did work a few of times when Harry was around his friends because Ron always started the physical altercations. Ron was the first one to launch himself because he couldn't think of a biting comeback for the stings that Malfoy was sending. More detentions and points from Gryffindor were removed because of it.

Harry returned to his home and brought out the plants from his Arca greenhouse and into the one connected to his home. There were three large pots of 'Black-eyed Daisies', a muggle variety with a dark centre and deep yellow petals. There were two pots of 'Cat's-eye daisies', a strange wizarding variety, but in this case these daisies had a green centre with a vertical line of dark and the petals were plentiful, dark and fuzzy.

The last pot contained seven plants of something called the 'Midnight Daisy'. It was another wizarding variety, but was known as one that was difficult to grow. If it received the proper attention, it could be done. The only way to see this plant fully is to view it at night with special lenses because only creatures able to see in a certain spectrum of colours would notice this flower.

He placed the pots in a special spot in the greenhouse in order for the plants to be maintained properly. His potions professor joined him for a couple of days and so did Hagrid.

Hagrid came to inspect his new rooms and Severus came to help out with the Spring Blessing. Harry covered up the plants with a protective covering and was worried about transporting them. However the house-elves gave him a wagon that levitated and automatically stabilized.

Harry carefully placed each pot in the wagon. He used the wagon's magical mechanisms to raise the sides and secure the plants within. They had to set out just before the sun started to rise. He made sure that the bracelets were with him in a secure pocket.

They reached the grove while it was still dark. Harry put a finger to his lips and motioned to Professor Snape that extra caution was needed. He didn't put anything in the fairy rings this time because it would be up to the queen to distribute his offering. He put emotions in the trinkets, but it was a true offering and it was something belonging to him.

Slowly they reached the main ring of mushrooms and toadstools. Harry pulled the wagon with him and made his way to the centre of the ring. He placed the pots with the covered plants on it and around it. Fairies being creatures of nature can un-pot them safely and plant them wherever they wanted.

"I come on this day to seek the Spring Blessing for my lands, holdings, family, friends and teachers. Bless me and through me all of mine," Harry said in a very serious tone.

"No food this time," a childish voice twittered in the wind.

"Not this time," Harry replied.

"No offerings to the other toadstool rings this time, either," said another petulant childish voice.

"No," Harry confirmed.

"Why should we listen to you?" Another voice chided.

"I have come to petition for the Spring Blessing," he told them.

"You bring covered offerings and nothing else?" The first voice questionned. "Are you ashamed of your offerings?"

"No," the boy answered. "I have brought what was asked of me."

"Have you really?" A majestic voice interrupted the teasing of the other fairies.

Harry only bowed, knowing that the queen was present. He removed the covering from the plants and revealed them all. He heard a gasp from behind him and he had to smile at his Professor's reaction.

"Oh," the Queen sighed at the sight. "You've out done yourself young one." Harry lifted his eyes and smiled back at the entity before him. "What of my other request?"

Harry pulled out four velvet pouches and the magic could be felt coming from them. He opened one and took out a small chain of silver and gold that had a tiny egg attached with dangly type leaves of multiple coloured metals that shifted in the light. The emotion tied to it was intense and real.

The Queen took possession of all the pouches and looked into each one. "Marvelous," she said. She was once again surprised and pleased by the sincere offerings from this boy. She granted him the blessing and had the fairies take the potted plants away to be placed in a secret garden that belonged to her.

She repeated the actions from the Winter Blessing and beckoned the man standing at the edge of the main ring. He repeated his actions, never once did he waver in his support for his young friend. "He's very special," she told the man.

Severus nodded in agreement. She pulled out one of Harry's chains from a pouch. She added a bit of Fairy metal to it in order to lengthen it and slipped around the man's head. The chain became invisible, but he could feel the emotions from it... pure youthful happiness. It was something that he was sure he had never felt in his life. It caused him to have tears in his eyes. He was grateful to Harry for bringing it out of him and to the Queen's gift of it.

"This will protect you for a while," she said. "Until he is in fourth year, you'll be free to be yourself and it will hide what you don't want seen. This land and house that you've been openly welcomed in is your safe haven now."

She left the grove just like she appeared and this time Severus knew to bring the wagon back with him, plus guide the boy out of the grove. Curious he looked into the boy's eyes and saw that they were all green. He had no pupils and no whites of an eye.

'_Must be because the boy's natural eye-colour is green,_' he thought.

Harry led him to the same spot only this time he faced east where the sun rises to pass on the Blessing of Spring to his lands. He returned to the same entrance and passed the blessing onto his properties and holdings.

In the kitchens he passed the Blessing to his house-elves and to Hagrid. He passed another onto his professor and all the teachers through him and to the school itself. This time he didn't say on be-half of the students, but that was because he could only pass it on once on their behalf through a teacher.

He passed out again and Hagrid carried him to his rooms to sleep off the rest of the Blessing. When he returned to the kitchens he asked the Potions Master if something was wrong. "Ye look kinda thoughtful, Sev'rus," Hagrid said.

"He presented the fairies with Midnight Daisies," Severus told the man. Hagrid gasped, but the man continued looking at the half-giant. "He was able to successfully grow them. They were potted too."

"I didna' think tha' rare plants were studied tha' early," the large man said. He got one of the elves to prepare hot water for tea. It looked like Severus needed something to calm him down a bit.

"They don't," Severus confirmed sipping the tea that was handed to him. "Rare plants are mentioned in potions sometimes, but only in sixth and seventh year classes mention the Midnight Daisy. Herbology covers them in fourth or fifth depending on Professor Sprout's plans."

"Well, mayhap 'Arry did independent research," Hagrid said. "Seems ta me tha' he asked me about 'em in February, but I didna' know why he needed ta know. 'E's always asking questions o' tha' nature."

Severus wondered just how far the boy was in his studies. "Do you happen to know how long Harry has had his Arca?"

Hagrid became flustered and nervous. He didn't want to tell the man, but he did want to know why the potions professor was asking. "Why'd ye want ta know tha'?" Hagrid asked.

The Potions Master noticed the large man's behaviour and now believed that he had something to do with it, but he only said, "It would explain why he seems so advanced in some areas and not in others."

"A verra long while," Hagrid told him truthfully.

He didn't mention just _how_ long because then there was the chance that the man would find out that the half-giant had meddled. "Could also 'ave somethin' ta do with the fact that he found out ye need a Mastery or Journeyman level o' education ta be considered adult in our Worl'."

"Now that makes a lot of sense," Severus told him. "I hope that he will succeed in that."

"So do I," Hagrid said. "I'm going ta look in on the animals. Would ye like ta join me?"

Severus blinked because he was surprised to receive such an invitation, but he was admittedly curious to know exactly what animals they were tending in this place. He nodded his agreement and stood up to follow.

Hagrid was surprised at the man, but then he began to explain what Harry wanted to do with this place. He told him about the animals that were here for the sole purpose of providing for this home and then he mentioned other farms that the boy was working on in order to make them function once more to their full capacity.

Severus was surprised to see the animals and he listened with rapt attention as Hagrid explained how they were cared for. He was pleased that they were docile enough from him to touch and he had fun petting and brushing them. The Llama was cute in its own way.

This barn had a couple of rooms that were there for the specific purpose of processing the small quantities of cheese, milk and butter from the goats and cows. Another room had a loom set up and ready for use in processing the wool from the lone Llama, but Harry was thinking of bringing in another to companion this one.

Walking out of this barn the Potions Master noticed two other buildings on the property that were not attached to the house. He asked about them. "Hagrid," he said to get the other man's attention. "What's in those buildings?"

"Well the big one contains all furniture that needs ta be fixed up," Hagrid said. "Some came from this 'ouse, the rest came from 'is other properties. I don' rightly know what's in the last buildin', but I haven't asked him abou' tha' one either. If 'n ye want ta know, jus' ask 'im, if he don' want ta say 'e'll tell ya that."

Severus understood that about the boy. If he didn't want to show them something, then he didn't. There were several rooms in the house that he didn't know what they contained and was only told that it wasn't time to see them. The man didn't like that he wasn't allowed to know what they contained, but he understood the need to have someplace private.

Meanwhile he asked, "Could we go into the one with the furniture? I'll admit to being curious about them."

Hagrid nodded, knowing that it was all right to go into that building. "Come on, then," the large man said and lead the way.

Severus followed him in through the huge side door and was soon walking here and there to get a better look at the furniture. They were from several eras and the designs that were interesting to look at. Most were of muggle origin, but they had been adopted by the Wizarding World because of their unique design and comfort.

He was particularly intrigued by a chair that he saw a house-elf flip the back over to reveal a small set of steps. It was a chair that converted into a small step ladder for libraries. Flipping it back, changed it back into a chair. '_I wonder if a chair like that would be comfortable to sit in,_' he thought. '_Probably not for long periods of time… unless it had cushioning charms._'

He walked further and found several little card tables that changed into side tables when not in use. He was so busy looking around that he didn't notice when Harry joined him. He did notice after the boy began to talk about the pieces and where they came from. He even knew which member of his family had bought what piece, when and where.

"Most came with arranged marriages, gifts and other things," Harry told him. "A lot are still good and can remain in the Wizarding World as long as the charms on them have been renewed and re-enforced. A good many are being stripped of their magics and will be sold at a muggle flea market."

"A flea market," Severus said. "What, pray tell, is a Flea Market?"

"Um," Harry paused to think about it. "Are there things known as jumble sales or garage sales in the Wizarding World?"

"Not that I know of," the potions professor said.

"What about auctions?" Harry asked.

"There are some, but those are very few and far between," the man confirmed.

"I know that second hand shops exist," Harry said and watched as the man nodded in agreement. "Think of a jumble sale as a temporary second hand store that contains everything from clothing to furniture. Jumble sales take place when either businesses have too much of a product or need to get rid of their current inventory in order to receive a new shipment. These can occur anytime. A community or town will sometimes get together and have one, bringing together items that they no longer want or need in their homes."

"All right I understand that concept," Severus told him. "It's similar to that day after Christmas shopping that we did. But what is a Flea Market? It sounds unpleasant."

"Yes it's very similar," Harry said. "Now a Flea Market from my limited understanding is similar in that it occurs usually during the week-end and most times it contains far more inferior items then you'd expect to see at a second-hand shop or during a jumble sale. It mostly contains items that a family no longer wants or has room to keep. It's the best place to find things that are classed as '_vintage_' and there are collectors in the Muggle World that collect just about anything from old clothes to dishes to appliances to clocks and even old furniture."

"Do you plan to sell these on your own?" He asked the boy.

"Yes," Harry answered truthfully.

"At a Flea Market?" Severus pressed the issue. "A muggle Flea Market?"

"Yes," the boy said. "I plan to disguise myself like I did during the Yule season. I don't think that I'll have a hard time selling these. I've booked a section of the lot that will allow me to come and go unseen."

"For how long?" Harry was puzzled by the question. "How long will the Flea Market be opened and how long do you plan to stay there?" Severus asked.

"I've booked the lot for only two week-ends," Harry said. "I don't think it will take longer then that to sell off what I'm planning to bring. Is there something wrong, sir?"

"I don't think that I like the fact that you will be on your own to sell these," the Potions Master stated.

"If you'd like to join me, you may," Harry said. "It's only for two week-ends, beginning a Friday afternoon and finishing up on a Sunday. I'll tell you the dates after this school year is complete. Your rooms will be ready for you anytime. I'll send you an Auto-Floo pouch by house-elf."

"I accept Mr. Potter," Severus said and grinned, as the boy grimaced. "I have to return to the school now."

"Thank you for coming Professor," Harry told him.

"It was my pleasure," the man said. "A favour, if you please?"

"Anything," Harry said without hesitation.

"May I purchase a couple of these?" The Potions Master said about the furniture. "Before, you bring them to the Flea Market for sale."

"Once you know the days, you can come earlier and chose the ones you like," Harry said. "You may select any that we have refurbished in here. You may not want the ones without the spells on them."

Severus nodded. They walked to the kitchens were the Floo was still set up. Harry's Floo room was almost ready for use and he warned the professor about that.

He did ask one question before the man left. "Professor Snape, do you happen to know if the Wizarding World has anything remotely similar to '_Summer Camps_'?"

The man blinked at that question. "I don't know what you are referring to, Harry."

"The Muggle World sometimes has things set up in the summers called camps or Summer Camps," Harry explained. "It a summer program that some parents send their children to. It could be extra learning or just camping, living in the outdoors or it could be an exercise or workout camp. The parents pay for their children to attend these camps and most times the children are only gone for a week or two. There are some that last longer, but I was wondering if there was anything like that for wizard children."

"No," Severus said. "I have never heard of such a thing. That's not to say it doesn't exist, but I am not aware of it, as I have no children of my own. Perhaps you should ask around."

"I will," Harry said. "Thank you for coming to the Blessing and I'll see you soon at school."

Severus nodded and took the Floo back to the school via Madam Rosmerta's Tavern. Once he was there he asked the woman about such camps and whether they existed, as she has a couple of grown children of her own.

"Well there used to be a program to allow students from any magical school to help clean out properties belonging to the elite of the Wizarding World," she said. "It fell into disuse, but if someone had a lot of properties that needed cleaning up or fixing then the students could apply. I believe that it was to allow the children a safe place to practice their spells and learn about an honest days work."

"How would one find out about such a thing?" He asked.

"In the past, it was a simple matter of getting the Headmaster or Deputy Headmistress's permission to post an advert in the school papers or in the common room bulletin boards," she told him. "Sample contracts would have to be sent to them for approval and once they judged the sincerity of the offer, then either would permit the posting. Local businesses would accept to post them on board for a limited time and a fee without having to go through the Headmaster or Deputy Headmistress."

"Thank you for that information," he said.

"May I ask why you needed it?" She queried.

"Someone had mentioned it in passing and I was curious about it," he said honestly. "Good day, madam."

"Good Day Professor," she replied.

-----

Harry refused to return to the school by train. He did look up to see if there was a Floo connection to the Hogsmeade stationhouse. There was, so he used his Floo in order to get to the station in time to watch the Hogwarts Express pull up. He timed it just right in order to merge with the other students, hopped into a carriage with Fred and George Weasley, plus another second year student from another House.

They spoke generally of their brief holiday, until they reached the school. They went into the Great Hall and he was soon being choked by someone that he pushed away violently. "Harry what are you doing?" Ron asked helping Hermione to stand up.

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "Don't ever do that again, Hermione. I could have hurt you."

"What are you talking about Harry?" She asked. "I was happy to see that you were all right. You weren't on the train."

"I was, but I was just in another compartment," he lied. "Notice-me-not spell."

"Why were you avoiding us?" She asked her footing thumping on the ground with impatience.

"I was avoiding everyone," he said truthfully. "So don't look at me like that. If I don't want company, then I'm going to make sure that I don't get any. I'm sorry that you were worried, but honestly we were only gone for a week."

"But we're your best friends," Ron said slightly put out at having to ride the train with just Hermione for company. "You could have just told us, we would have let you alone."

"Seeing as how you're both upset about it, I will try to remember for the next time," Harry said. "You two have to remember that I'm not used to having friends, so I'm not always that sure about what I'm doing. I didn't know that I would offend you by not being there."

"It's all right," Hermione said. "Well now it makes sense that you would push me away. You're not used to any of that are you?"

"No," he confirmed. "So could not do that ever again?"

"Not a chance," she said. "You need to get used to it."

"No I don't," he said. "If you ever do that to me again, do not be surprised if you get hurt in the process. You ask that I respect that you are concerned about me because you're my friends, but I ask you to respect my wishes. Don't ever assault me like that again."

He walked away from them to sit down at the Gryffindor table, leaving them to think about what he had just said. They joined him shortly after because they didn't want to leave him alone. Harry had received a disapproving look from his Head of House, but something like this shouldn't be her concern.

'_Best friends?_' He thought while they were eating. '_Where in the hell did they get that notion? We hang out sometimes and most other times I'm too busy with other things. When did we ever declare that we are __**Best Friends**__? I'm sure that I don't feel anything more for them then I do for anyone else. My best friends at that moment are Hagrid with Professor Snape coming up to a close second. My personal house-elves come next followed by Crasgrasp and Risuslux. Tertia is my familiar and therefore our bond is greater than that of best friends. What a sappy declaration... I wonder if that's why Neville, Seamus and Dean have backed away from me a bit. I wouldn't be surprised._'

He was thinking deeply that he was somewhat startled when Ron elbowed him. Confused he looked around and noticed that nearly everyone had left the Great Hall. "Sorry, Ron," he said.

"Doesn't matter," the red-head replied. "Feel like a game of chess."

"Sure," Harry told him.

-----

School time moved on and the subjects were slowly becoming more complicated. Tests, exams and lots of homework piled up. The puzzle of the Philosopher Stone was still bothering them. They tended to dwell on it whenever they wanted a break from school work.

Suddenly Harry was hit with an insight on their last day of exams. "We've got to go see Hagrid," he said. They ran up to the large man sitting on the porch. "Hagrid, who gave you that dragon's egg?"

"Don' know," the large man answered. He told them that he had won in a poker game from a fellow down in the pub. He mentioned that the man was interested in knowing about Fluffy and then he told them that the way to any creature was knowing how to calm it.

"_**Take Fluffy for example, play 'im a bit a music 'n 'e falls right ta sleep**__._" He looked contrited about that, watching the children run back to the school and began muttering once more. "I shoulna' said tha'... I really shouldna' said tha'..."

They ran into the school and to the one professor that they thought that they could trust to take them seriously. Professor McGonagall only informed them that the stone was well protected and that they shouldn't be bothering about it. "The Headmaster is a busy man and has left to deal with an urgent call from the Minister of Magic. If I catch you lurking where you don't belong I'll be taking points," she said. "Now run along."

They were disappointed in her, Harry more so than the other two, but they just didn't understand the seriousness of this situation. He really looked at them and knew that he couldn't bring them on this little adventure. They returned to their rooms and thought about it some more, but there was nothing left to say.

They didn't know that Harry had an '_invisibility cloak_'. He never told them, but he was going to use it to get to the stone before the evil bastard did. Despite their constant idea that it was Professor Snape behind the whole thing, Harry knew that it wasn't. He didn't get the same feel from his Professor as he had gotten from the dark ghost in the Forbidden Forest.

He took care in his dressing. He wore comfortable dark clothing and with long sleeves to cover his goblin bracers. He wore his leg bracers and made sure to have a couple of knives in there. He carried his Arca with him because he never left the tower without it. It was just like his security blanket and he could never leave it behind. He placed a dagger sheath in his belt with an extremely sharp blade.

He put on soft black shoes that were similar to a dancer's shoe for those that practiced something called ballet-jazz. His dark shirt and dark pants would help him blend in with the shadows. Thankfully the green in his hair was finally gone. He set is eyeglasses to have a darkened lens, but one that could see in the dark with a sort of infra-red and ultra-violet spectrums. Useful when he was learning his spells.

He had the cloak in his pocket and now it was just a matter of being able to escape the common room without anyone knowing about it. He was almost at the door when he heard, "Where are you going?"

He looked around and saw that Neville was up. "I'm sorry Neville," Harry said. "But I have to go and do something very important."

"What could be more important than school?" Neville asked. "Why aren't Ron and Hermione with you?"

"They can't be caught up in this," Harry told the boy sincerely. "I need make sure of something and I work better alone."

"You leave them behind often," Neville observed. "They are your _Best Friends_, are they?"

Harry frowned at that. "I'm not around enough from them to know me or consider me a _best_ friend. They are friends, though. They're all right in their own way."

Neville really looked at the Boy-Who-Lived and how he was dressed. He hadn't even made a sound coming down the stairs. This was something that he had noticed from time to time, but never mentioned it to anyone.

"Don't get caught," Neville said before going up the stairs. He paused for a moment and said, "Would you sit with me on the train back to London for a while? I'd like to talk about things."

Harry smiled at the boy and nodded. He watched as the boy went up the stairs and left him alone for a moment. Quickly, Harry was through the portrait hole and he donned his cloak. Moving through the familiar corridors, he raced to the stairs and took a short cut that he had found to the third floor corridor.

Peeves the Poltergeist was there, but a quick sending of sound had him heading in another direction, leaving the area clear for Harry. He ran up to the door, cast the unlocking charm and headed into the room with Fluffy. He pulled out a flute and began to play in order to keep the dog asleep. He tugged at a paw to move it and was soon through the trap door.

He landed in something soft, but that was deceiving in the darkness. He felt the tendrils of a plant and he had a pretty good idea about what he was looking at. He completely relaxed and stopped moving. The plant released him through the flooring and his next task was up. It was too easy for him to catch the key, cast the _Imobulous_ charm on the rest and get through the door.

The next problem was a giant chess set. Again it was easy to get through that. He wasn't a bad player. In fact he was an excellent player. It was just that when he was with his friend and after that first game with Ron, the boy had assumed that Harry didn't know how to play at all. Harry allowed that assumption to remain and played badly every time. Not this time though.

He won on his own and enjoyed blasting the pieces off of the board. '_It'd be interesting to have smaller pieces like this set and use it to practice strategy,_' he thought.

He walked through the door and past a dead troll that was festering and smelled just awful.

He quickly left that room, walking into another and soon was stopped by _**black flames**_ in front of him and _**purple flames**_ behind him. It was too bad that he didn't really need to do the riddle. He pulled out his walking stick and turned the flames to ice. He did take both potions with him to get past the flames on his return from the final room.

He wasn't going to take any chances. He had a knife in his fingers, hidden by his hand. He walked through the frozen flames and headed down only to see Professor Quirrell standing in front of a familiar looking mirror.

"Well, well," the Professor said. "Nosy little brat aren't you." _**He snapped his fingers and ropes appeared out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry**_.

Harry made a show of struggling, but was cutting through them, listening to the man mutter about how Harry was in the way. How he needed to get the stone for his Master.

Meanwhile Harry was nearly through. He was listening to the mutters of "_**I see it, I see what I desire**__,_" and "_**I see myself giving it to my Master**_." He was free of the ropes and he moved to a location behind the absorbed man hoping to get out of his line of sight.

The man was still talking about his Master and how the master punished him for failure. Harry could smell or sense a taint in the man. He knew that there would be no redemption for this Professor. He took a deep breath and was about to move, when he heard the words, "_**Use the boy... Use the boy...**_"

"Yes," the professor turned around and noticed that the ropes were on the ground with no Potter tied up. He quickly turned to another direction, but Harry had already set his turban on fire.

"Tainted flesh must be cauterized," Harry said in a bland voice.

It was disturbing to hear the boy say something like that. He used a slicing motion to trip up the man, but the Professor was quick and it missed. Harry increased the heat of the flames and soon the Professor and another voice were screaming in pain.

Professor Quirrell was too busy ripping off the turban to notice that Harry was standing close enough to the mirror for the image of in to change. He watched wide-eyed as his image pulled his Arca out of his pocket, open it, lift up a blood red stone and put it back into his learning trunk with a wink and a lip motion telling him to give it back directly to Flamel. His image self put the Arca back into his pocket and vanished.

Harry turned his attention back in time to see the man launching himself in order to strangle him. The boy ducked and kicked out at that man's groin, nailing him hard enough to make him collapse. Then he picked up the rope and hogged tied the downed man and said in a bland voice. "After cauterizing the tainted flesh, it must be excised or else the taint will spread."

Professor Quirrell was shuddering and his Master was trying to talk to the boy. However, as soon as Harry's hands landed on the man the flesh underneath them began to crumble to ash and dust. Leaving behind only the man's clothing and burnt turban.

"Too tainted to salvage," Harry stated.

Not one to ignore an underlying instinct, he immediately pulled out a potions jar known to suck up the dust of dead men. He was able to pull a lot of the dust in, just before a bit of it became animated by the evil that was Voldemort. It tried to attack him, but Harry only put up the jar and the entity immediately swerved around it in order to avoid getting sucked in.

He had all of the dust from Quirrell's body sucked into the jar. He called forth the clothing and burnt turban in a levitated bundle. Looking at his reflection in the Mirror, he winked and left the room going back to the still frozen flames. Keeping the bundle levitated he sent it into the previous room and then he reactivated the flames. He took the potion that would let him through the black flames and walked into the room with the floating pile of clothes.

He took one of vials that contained wine. He opened it and doused the clothing, leaving a length of purple turban sticking out on this side of the black flames. Now it looked like Professor Quirrell took the wrong stuff and tried to walk through the black flames to the next room.

Harry drank the other potion that would allow him to leave the room through the purple flames. He quickly backtracked through all of the other rooms and found the side doors that would allow for a quick escape.

'_Of course the Professors needed a way through in order to check up on their challenges,_' he thought.

He quickly left that section of the school and ran back to the Gryffindor Tower. Once he was in safely and on his bed, changed and ready to pretend that he'd been their that whole evening. He closed and locked his curtains. He opened his Arca and took a look at the Philosopher Stone.

Hermione was right. It was the little things that could do a lot of damage.

He wrapped up the stone in a suppressor bag and then he wrapped up the bag in brown paper. He wrote a note to Crasgrasp and told him to contact the Flamel's in Devon on his behalf.

He called for one of his house-elves to come and take the wrapped stone back to Tertia's Way to store it in his private room. He gave the note and asked that the house-elf delivery directly to Crasgrasp and no other goblin.

Harry knew that Crasgrasp would set up the meeting or something. That stone needed to be returned to its owner. There's no way that a man over six hundred years old would just hand it over on a whim. It was just too much for him to swallow.

He went into his Arca to sleep and then to catch up on a few of his panel lessons. Some of the things that he wanted to learn had to take a backseat to his school learning, but that was all right. He knew that he was too far ahead in Potions, Runes, Arithmancy and Alchemy. He wouldn't be taken Runes or Arithmancy at the school. He was bored enough in potions to know that he didn't want that.

Professor Snape was planning to schedule his Potions O.W.L. for next year. Maybe Harry could convince him to add the other two courses for O.W.L.s at the same time. Alchemy was not a N.E.W.T.s course and there was no Mastery in it, not in this day and age anyway.

-----

The next day there was a rumor going around the school that Professor Quirrell had left in the middle of the night and ran away from the school. It was the last day of school, but the students and some of the teachers were wondering what really happened to the stuttering man.

The ones that had been in charge of the challenges had investigated the whole thing early this morning and had found the piece of turban in the black fire. There were no bones, but Severus did say that the vial that the man had taken was a wine that reacted with the black flames in such a way that it helped the flames devour everything standing in them. So that one piece of material was enough to identify the man had been down there and that he quite possibly had died in the flames.

Only Severus knew that the wine would only knock the man out before the flames and not in them. He knew that the man was dead, but he didn't know how it had happened. All he knew was that it wasn't the flames. He didn't tell anyone about that.

The Headmaster was worried about something too, but he wasn't telling. He too was concerned about how Professor Quirrell had died. However he was more concerned about what happened to the stone. It was that Stone that he had rightly stolen from his friend that had allowed him to extend his life for a bit longer than it should have. It was even that Stone that had helped him to survive his battle with Grindlewald and he wanted it back desparately.

The Headmaster looked at all of the students. He couldn't fathom why no one was out last night. He was sure that Harry and his friends would have been out and about. As it was now, he couldn't justify giving any extra points to Gryffindor House and it was with some prejudice that Slytherin received the House Cup, but Gryffindor received the Quidditch Cup.

One final speech for the year and the students left the Hall to pack and go home. Harry had written his letters and sent the checks to his relatives. He had been able to find out about the blood wards during his holidays, but it seems like there was something missing and he would have to look further into them before doing anything about the ones supposedly protecting the Dursleys.

-----

The train ride back to London, Harry was sitting with Neville in one compartment for most of the ride. Once Neville was with him, Harry raised a _notice-me-not_ spell on the door and windows. He explained what he could to the boy. He told Neville everything that he had told Ron and Hermione and what they had figured out about the Philosopher Stone and Voldemort.

"They didn't want to believe me and they certainly can't understand some things about this," Harry said. He did notice how Neville blanched and seemed to understand slightly more than those who considered him a _best friend_.

"Did you stop him?" Neville asked. "He didn't get it did he?"

"No," Harry confirmed. "He was a ghost-like vapour before meeting up with a follower and he returned to that same state. I don't know all there is to know about the Wizarding World, but I do know that there must be other ways for him to come back to life. I know he will and from then on I'm going to have to fight."

"I'm with you," Neville told. "I want to get better and I want know how you did it. How did you get trained up?"

"I'll show you a secret," Harry said. He pulled out his Arca and that was all the Neville needed to see.

"Lucky you," he said. "I've always wanted one, but Gran thought that it wouldn't work for me, even after I proved to them that I had magic."

"When's your birthday," Harry said.

"July 30th," Neville told him.

"One day before mine," Harry told him. Then he asked, "Have you ever heard of summer camps?"

"No," Neville told him. "There is something about older families with too many estates that sometimes hire older students to clean up or clear out buildings, but no family has requested that in a long while."

"I see," Harry sighed.

"Why?"

"I wanted to know if something existed in the Wizarding World for organized trips or learning stuff, you know away from parents or guardians," Harry told him.

"If you find one, let me know," Neville said. "I'd kind of like to get away from my Grandmother for a week or two."

"Would you like to visit me?" Harry said. "I'd have to put you to work, but you're invited if you're allowed."

"That would be great," Neville said. "I'll owl you."

"Owl me on the third of July and we can plan," Harry said. "I'd have to ask you for an Oath of Secrecy, but if you don't mind that, then we can definitely discover other stuff."

"All right," Neville said. He stood up and held out his hand to Harry. Harry stood up to shake it. "Thank you for telling me what you could. At least we didn't lose House points because no one knew that you weren't there. I'm going to spend the rest of the trip with Seamus and Dean. I'm sure that Ron and Hermione are looking for you."

Harry groaned, but nodded and released the spells on the door and windows in time to see the cart lady. "Anything off the trolly, dear?" She asked. Harry nodded and asked for ten boxes of Chocolate Frogs, two boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and six Licorice Wands. He tucked them away in his Arca, leaving out only one box of Bertie's, one wand and two frogs.

It didn't take long before Ron and Hermione found him and soon they were nattering at him demanding to know where he'd been and what he was doing. He looked away and let them continue until Ron punched him in the arm. In a surprising move, Harry grabbed the arm and twisted it up behind the boy.

"What do you think you're doing, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Don't attack me," he said.

"I was only trying to get your attention," Ron said.

"Sorry," Harry said releasing the boy. "My cousin does that too and that's how I handle him. Please don't do that."

Ron agreed. They were almost in London anyway, but he paid attention to their conversation this time. He didn't want them to fault him in any way, shape or form.

He met up with his uncle and they drove to Privet Drive. The man did try to get Harry to give him more money, but Harry only told him that he had all ready given the money to his Aunt and that she was the only one permitted to get the money from him.

Vernon was miffed at that, but only shoved him quickly into the house. Harry was told to go to his room and stay until _it_ was set, meaning the blood wards. He was able to motion two weeks to his Aunt with his hands and that was good enough for them. The first two weeks of summer and then he would be gone.

It was perfectly acceptable to them. It was definitely acceptable to Harry.

----------------------

**TBC…**

(i) My thanks to **ReflectionsOfReality** for suggesting a portrait to preserve the singing voice.


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** This is a vastly different second year is coming up, the basics will be there, but no rescue is required. (I didn't quite like how Harry was pushed and pulled during this year). You'll see how it works.

By the way in the HPLexicon, it states that Harry was born in 1979 and the Weasley twins were born in 1978. Twisted as it seems, I get the impression that they are two years ahead of Harry. Is this possible? Cause even though I have not read Order of the Phoenix, isn't that the year that the twins leave school, after the Umbridge thing was during Harry's fifth year, wasn't that their N.E.W.T.s year?

**Warning I:** It has been mentioned in a few reviews that people hope that this story is not slash. I'm very sorry to disappoint you, but I have mentioned in a couple of previous chapters that it WILL BE SLASH. That will not change.

Harry will become involved with another male, but that part of the story will take some time because, "HE'S ONLY ELEVEN going on TWELVE." Plus the way my ideas are forming it will take time to get to Book Five & Six, when he's about fifteen and sixteen.

Now I'm not naïve enough to think that the topics of sex don't come up early, but let's be a little realistic here. Not everyone is raised the same way and in this story, I'm not planning on Harry developing TOO FAST. It will work naturally and progressively. Perhaps in the summer before his third year there will be mention of him discussing sex with one of his parental figures, but not before.

**Warning II:** I'm going to explore a pairing relationship of Severus/Hagrid. Not something that I've seen a lot of, but I find that I'm curious to see if I can make it believable.

I've seen only one long story that had never been completed called "Forbidden Forest" or "The Forbidden Forest", in which the author had a whole history for Hagrid that was very interesting. It can be found in **PainlessJ** HP Fanfiction list in the "Livejournal".com site, but I'll have to find the link for it, if you're interested in it. It's a very different story.

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis or doubt it this time, but just in case, __**direct quotes or semi-direct quotes**_'

(...Parseltongue...)

* * *

Chapter Ten

* * *

**Year 2 – Part one of... "Summertime" I**

Going back to the Dursleys was a waste of time, but he _didn't _(snort) want to disappoint them. Besides they were depending on him to protect their family, at least until he had a clear-cut understanding of the Blood Wards that were protecting their property.

He spent that first night removing the accumulated dust and sheets in the small room. He made a note to purchase a couple of dust banishing ones for the next time. He didn't think that there would be a chance to get a full use out of them, but it was a pain to have to sneeze non-stop. He had to sleep with his window open and most of the night he was sneezing in his sleep.

He didn't get a list of chores. His aunt told him that he wouldn't get one because he wasn't going to be there long enough to complete his tasks. He did ask for a favour to which she said, "Give me more money and I'll think about."

He said Vernon already asked for more, but that the limit was already set in premade checks that were already posted dated and ready to post for the next four years. He said this with an eyebrow raised and bringing forth a set of papers. "Read through these," he said. "I have found a lot about this house and wards, but I don't know when they were set. Do you have access to my mum's books or know who might have them?"

She looked around the house. Her son was at a friend's house and her husband was at work. "In the attic," she said. "You might find her stuff. Promise to take everything with you and once you figure out the wards, I will sign it this... You did say post dated for four years."

"Addressed to you only," Harry confirmed. "I will hold onto these. Show me where in the attic."

It didn't take long and for some reason she received both his mother's and his father's school trunks. He was shocked, but he was able to explore the lives of his mum and dad from their times at Hogwarts. His mum kept a diary, which didn't surprise him, as that was still considered a common girlish thing to do even in the Muggle World. His father kept a journal from his third year because in his own words, "My thoughts whirl too much and I need to write them down or else my good prank and joke ideas will fly out the window."

Harry was in heaven learning about their lives. He took a lot of things into consideration, like the fact that they had friends and family looking out for them. He had to always try and go into that point of view or else he might become slightly jealous of them. He wasn't jealous of Ron or Hermione, but he did envy them slightly for their formative years. Harry was happy ever since the day after he turned seven and from then on he was even happier. It's just the years leading up to seven were just _not_ fun for him.

It still wasn't fun being here at the Dursleys, but at least he was able to take the bus and use the London underground to go places. Since his relatives wanted him out of the house several times, he didn't mind.

He used his Arca the most when he was there and when the two weeks were up, which did seem to go by pretty fast for him, he was soon on the Knightbus and heading home to Tertia's Way.

-----

This summer was a very busy one for Harry Potter. He made sure that his plans were in place for the new gamekeeper buildings in the property and the working barns were processing the natural beeswax and natural honey. Hagrid had been able to recommend a middle-aged couple for one of the pollen properties and three young adults in their twenties for the other.

The couple wanted to work at something simple and yet productive. Once the plans had been explained they leapt at the chance to run the little bee farm on behalf of the owner. They would receive a very small percentage of the profits, but they were also getting paid monthly for their work. Their boss, Harry, made them attend a couple sessions on how to process the stuff naturally and how to monitor the growth of the hives.

They were put in charge of ten hives and they had the help of two house-elves that specialized in processing the beeswax and honey. The couple was very nice and they took an Oath of Secrecy, as well as one linking them to the House of Potter, once they knew who they were working for. Harry didn't know it at the time, but Hagrid did say that it was probable that the ones who decided to work for him would take an Oath of Fealty to his Family Line.

That's how they were going to be guaranteed their jobs and if they failed their Oath they would lose a lot more than just security. They could lose their magics.

Harry didn't want them doing that, unless they truly wanted to support him, no matter what could be written in the Wizarding World papers. He was under no delusions about the positive and negatives aspects of the press. So far he was lucky to have escaped their notice.

The three young adults were two brothers and a sister. It turns out that the girl had been bitten by a werewolf and they wanted a safe place for her. Harry agreed to let them remain on the property and he asked a lot of questions from the men and girl. He wanted reliable workers and he was concerned for the house-elves that would be assigned to this property.

He didn't make fun of the girl. He certainly didn't know that much about werewolves, other than the fact that they couldn't help, but change on a full-moon night. He told them that they needed to work a contracted period of three years first under an Oath of Secrecy, before he could accept any other type of Oath from them.

The boys were ready to leave, but he only wanted them to be aware that things may befall them from association with him. He did tell them that the elder couple working a farm similar to theirs was willing to allow the boys to sleep in the barn when the girl had to go through her change.

"We ain't leavin' 'er," one of the brothers said.

"We ain't never left 'er alone, before and we ain't startin' now," said the other.

"All right," Harry said. "All I want from the three of you is an Oath of Secrecy and I will in turn provide one that will protect all of you. I didn't want your Oath of Fealty because you three don't know me and I don't know any of you."

"But sir," the girl said. "You let that older couple do it."

"I didn't know what they were doing until it was too late and done," Harry explained. "I did not ask them for Fealty. I do know why they did it though."

"Why sir?" She asked and then blushed at questioning the one that was hiring them.

"They're getting older and they wanted security," Harry said. "I didn't care about their partial giant heritage or other creature heritage, but I understand that they wanted added security for when they reach a more elderly age."

"We want the same," she said. "Why can't..."

"Because you're younger and may find someone that you wish to marry or bond with," Harry said. "An Oath like that will tie you to my Family and if you do find someone to marry they may wish you to be tied to theirs instead. I can't let you bind yourselves that way."

"Oh," she said. "I don't think that there's any man out there tha' would want someone like me."

"It's too early in your life to think about that," Harry said. "I just want your Oaths of Secrecy for now. I have brought you schedules for your learning sessions with Master Gustav. He will show you how to care for the hives and the plants that the bees need to feed from. You can modify the home as you wish to fit your needs. I'll be assigning three house-elves to assist with the running of the equipment in the barn. They specialize in that, so don't ask them to clean up after you. If there is anything else, feel free to owl me or my estate manager Crasgrasp Slagbreaker at Gringotts and he will get in contact with me. If you do need an extra house-elf to assist with the cleaning in the house, then feel free to contact me and I'll see if there are any young ones prepared to be placed."

They too were going to be given a small percentage of the profits and a wage in order to continue maintaining the property. They gave their Oath of Secrecy and were shocked that Harry willingly took their blood and exchanged it as protection for them. He didn't care that she was a werewolf. She was only a danger on the full moon because of the need to hunt or mate on that night.

-----

His bigger farms were slower to get people working there, but soon he had several reliable workers of many mixed magical races and some were squibs that preferred to work in a magical environment. He was tolerant of all of them and expected the same. He wanted to be sure that the work they were doing was the work they wanted to do. It was. Most only wanted to do an honest day's work and therefore gladly accepted his conditions for an Oath.

"Keep my secrets, tell no one who you work for and you will have protection. Do not listen to the gossip that may arise just because I'm known as the Boy-Who-Lived," he told them. "It hasn't happened yet, but I just have a feeling about it."

There were some that wanted to swear an Oath of Fealty, but he stopped on that and said, "Work for me for three years first. You never know what kind of land owner I'll become when I hit puberty. If after three years you still wish to swear it, I will accept."

That made a lot them laugh, but it also made quite of few of them thoughtful. So they agreed to his conditions. House-elves were assigned to various parts of the farms and their tasks were clearly outlined by him to the workers. Those that worked in the houses, kept the houses, but he was clear about those that worked in the kitchens.

"They have been instructed and shown how to cook simple meals without using spices to flavour foods," he told them. He then explained why and most of the workers were shocked to find out about the fact that the little creatures had different taste buds. Now that they understood it, they were free to add whatever they wanted at the table rather than have a food cooked with too much of something.

-----

Around the third of July he was expecting a letter from Neville and by the time that the fifth rolled around, he knew that there was something going on with his Post. He was expecting something from Gringotts too. He called all of his house-elves to the kitchens and questioned them.

That's when he noticed that there was an additional house-elf in with his own. "Accio Harry Potter's letters," he said. They flew out from the centre of the elves and that's when they all noticed the presence of a strange house-elf among them.

They bound it quickly with their own magics and suppressed the ones that it had. "Youse be explanin' to Master Harry Potter, WHY youse takin his letters, youse not his house-elf," they accused him.

"I be Dobby," he said. "Bad things come to Hogwarts. Harry Potter must not be going."

"I've already dealt with Voldemort," Harry said. "I've also dealt with one of his followers. What makes you even think that anything happening this year will frighten me?"

"Harry Potter is good wizard," Dobby said. "Dobby cannot let Harry Potter get hurt."

"That's not your job," Harry said. The other house-elves backed him up. "You're not to interfere with me or mine ever again."

"Dobby has to go," the pathetic little creature said crying pitifully.

Harry shook his head and said, "Let him go. Never interfere with me or mine again." He told the little shivering elf.

Dobby wasn't prepared for the fact that there were a lot of house-elves around, but even more so he truly wasn't prepared for the binding that he felt fall upon him. He looked to the wizard and knew... "You can't tell anyone in any way, shape or form, anything that you've seen or heard here. You had no right to come into my home and disturb it in such a fashion."

"Dobby is sorry," he sobbed. "Dobby only wanted to protect the Great Harry Potter."

The little house-elf popped away and knew that he could never enter any property belonging to Harry Potter unless he was invited.

'_There be other ways to stop Harry Potter from going to school,_' he thought as he returned to the family that he was bound to.

"Finally," Harry said looking at the stack of letters that had been addressed to him.

He dismissed his house-elves, apologizing to them and went to read his letters in peace. He quickly sent off a note to Ron and his family telling them that he was fine and needed to stay a while longer with his relatives. He wrote to Hermione telling her that he was fine and didn't need any rescue. He also told her that it was too soon to think about school work.

There were a couple of important ones from Crasgrasp that he responded to immediately. He agreed to the arranged meeting with the Flamels and requested the use of the goblin's office. If they have a private boardroom or meeting room, that he could book and that it had the same amount of secrecy that would be just as fine too.

Finally he returned the note that Neville had written to him and the boy had basically told him that he was willing to swear an Oath of Secrecy, if Harry would take one in return.

"Now that's interesting," he said. Harry returned the letter with a time and day to meet in the Leaky Cauldron, for the day after his meeting with the Flamels.

He had a feeling that the meeting would take quite some time to get through. Then again he knew nothing about the couple, other than what was in the book where Hermione had found the information on Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher Stone.

Days before the meeting he tended his garden and watched as the first foods of summer flourished. There were some that were known for their early productions and he was happy to see that they were doing well. He told the elves that they could harvest them, but not eat them. They had to put strong preservation and freshness charms on them. He was planning to give the first of his harvest to the fairies.

He worked the land and vegetable garden on his own. He even planted a few rose bushes and a climbing one that was set to climb up an arbour that Hagrid had built and set up for him in the spring. He had some early fruits too. He was planning for his last blessing to take place in the direct middle of the Summer Season on July 21.

The elves understood his request and kept everything as he wanted. For their own offering they added some of the wool from the Llamas, beeswax and honey from the other farms. They preserved the first butters and cheeses of the summer. They were going to add one cup of fresh milk per animal for every animal that Harry had on the farms on the day he was planning to gift the tiny magical creatures.

They were going to do all of this without his knowledge because he needed to be just as shocked as the Queen and the fairies. They were also going to put everything into one of the old hope chests that they had taken apart, refinished and put back together.

Harry's personal gift was going to be five hundred cameos. They were tiny images that he had captured with colour and feeling. They were the first that he had ever done in colour with magic, but his instructor in the Arca was sure that he was ready for that step.

The images in the cameos were fluid and whimsical. They were just of colours swirling lazily to invisible winds. Some of the images were single plants, poor copies of the daisies that he had grown, but he painted them any way. A rose bud in one or a flower branch with apple blossoms or cherry blossoms in another, there were leaves of different species of trees, one per cameo, however no animals were captured. He wasn't ready for that, but he did add a bit of the same happy day-dreaming feeling into all of them.

He created the small frames with his jewellery making skills and they were very tiny. The sizes of them were much smaller than the ones made for humans, only about an inch and a half tall and about an inch wide, but he did this on purpose. These were for the toadstool rings in the grove.

He was thinking to himself as he was making them, '_They sounded so disappointed that nothing was offered to the rings the last time. Besides this will be the last time that I can make any offering this big. The ownership of my properties and the Blessing Ritual will be completed then._'

He just hoped that Neville wouldn't be too startled to see Professor Snape at Harry's home, but he wanted the boy to witness this last ritual step. It was something that he knew would interest him and he also knew that there would come a time that Neville would inherit the Longbottom properties.

This was only one of the reasons, another was that he wanted someone he could trust and so far the boy was trustworthy. He felt it deeply.

-----

The meeting with the Flamels was interesting. They arrived at Gringotts on July 9th, hidden under heavy disguises. They must have had the respect of many of the goblins there because they didn't even stop to speak to a teller. They just walked right on in and were led into a private and secure boardroom. The room was so secure that anything discussed within was never recorded and mostly never remembered by those who entered it, unless they were very strong magically or strong minded.

The elderly couple was surprised to see a young boy sitting in one of the chairs and he looked like he was waiting for them. "Young man," Perinelle Flamel began. "Are you the one that sent us that note through a goblin representative?"

Harry smiled, hoping that it would put them at ease. "Yes madam," he said. "Please won't you sit down?"

They seated themselves and Harry began. "I'm sorry to be impertinent, but I must ask. Is there some way that you could prove who you are? I just need to be sure."

"Call in a goblin you trust and have them test us," Nicolas told him. Harry nodded and looked out of the door. He requested that the goblin runner posted there go and get his estate manager.

"Meanwhile why don't you tell us your name young man?" Perinelle asked.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness," Harry said. "My name is Harry Potter."

The couple just looked at him and wondered if that was the truth. He smiled and said, "Do you wish to summon a goblin that _you_ trust in order to test it?"

"We'll accept the word from yours," Nicolas said.

"Could I ask you a few questions while we wait?" Harry said to the man. Receiving the agreement, he asked, "Have you ever used unicorn blood in your alchemical equations? Can you use unicorn blood? How come alchemy has fallen to disuse? When you factor time in the alchemy ritual for weather readings do you include all possible time factors or is it just the time in the location you're at, that you need to use?..."

"Stop," Nicolas said, surprised at the questions he had just received. "You've studied alchemy?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

"I didn't think that the subject was taught in schools anymore," the man told him.

"I'm not learning from school," the boy told him. "I'm studying it independently."

Just then Crasgrasp walked into the boardroom, took one look at the occupants and knew who they were. They had an aura of age about them, but he wasn't surprised that the boy needed confirmation. "Mr. Potter," he said. "These are the people you requested here."

"Thank you Crasgrasp," Harry said. "You may stay if you like, as you may need to mediate or you may need to confirm a few things to them."

The goblin looked at the couple and when he received the nod to stay, he immediately sat at the table. Harry didn't have is magical guardian with him, which was something that surprised him, but he had a feeling that the half-giant didn't know about this. He raised an eyebrow to the boy in query.

"No, he doesn't know," Harry said, blushing at having been caught. "I don't want him to know about this. Please understand I love that man like a true parent, but there are some things that I know he wouldn't want to know about Dumbledore, not just yet. That man was like a saviour to him because he was allowed to remain living at the school. I'm hoping that with a bit of time and other kinds of learning, he will make up his own mind."

"I understand Mr. Potter," the goblin said. "It would be a good idea, if you told him about this only after the item has been returned to its rightful owners."

"I was planning on that," Harry said, putting his estate manager at ease. He turned to look at the two that were before him. "I can sense that you're disguised and I'll not ask you to reveal yourselves. This goblin is my estate manager and I trust him to completely guard the contents of this meeting."

The goblin shook his head and thought, '_That boy really needs to learn how to speak carefully, but again this not knowing will protect him too._'

The couple was surprised at the boy's words. They wondered if the boy knew just what he had invoked in such a room. Looking at him closely they figured that he didn't know that he had just bound his estate manager to hold the secret of this meeting, until the day he dies.

"Harry," Perinelle said. "There are certain areas in our World that hold high concentrations of magic, especially if you're a magically strong individual, like we sense that you are. You need to be very careful of the wording that you use in those areas or else you may be binding someone in some manner that they didn't want or they cannot accept."

Harry thought about that for a moment and then he reviewed the wording that he had just used. "Crasgrasp?" He asked with nervousness. "Did I… Are you…"

"Mr. Potter," the goblin said. "On this occasion I am honoured to hold the secret of this meeting, please do not worry about it. I would ask that you seek books and instruction on how to sense locations of high concentrations of magic. I'll recommend a few books on how to be cautious, when declaring something to be absolute, as this _invokes_ compliance to the party who's subject to your declaration."

"I am sorry, Crasgrasp," he said contritely. "I didn't know or else I would have certainly used more caution."

"Quite all right," the goblin said. "Let's just continue on with our discussion."

Harry nodded and then gave a partial explanation about his first year adventures. He told them how his scar had reacted a few times to the presence of something that was not quite right at the school. He told them how bits and pieces of a puzzle were delivered to him and his friends. He also explained how they had finally figured out that the Philosopher Stone was being hidden in the school and he told them all about the challenges and how he had to pass them.

"The thing is that the last challenge involved, what I can only describe as a mirror that shows you your desires," Harry said. "I saw nothing in it the first time. I only noticed that my image was delayed a little, but the next time that I saw it, a _Follower_ was in front muttering about how he saw himself handing the _Stone to his Master_. That's how I figured out that it is a mirror that shows you what you desire. Now when I stood in front of it, I noticed my image pull the stone from my Arca and put it back. The most important part of this is that my image whispered to me saying, '_Give it back to directly to Flamel_'. That's why we're here now."

All present in the room were wide eyed at the tale that he had just told them. They were shocked that events at the school had been so close to disaster and the monster, that they had all thought vanquished, had almost come back. They shuddered at the thought that Dumbledore had set it up in such a way. It was like he was trying to test the boy and that's when they all turned to look at him…

Harry sensing the attention looked up from his thoughts and quirked his head to one side. "Disturbing… isn't it," he commented almost reading their expressions.

"Quite so, young man," Nicolas told him. "Do you have with you now?"

"Of course," Harry said. He pulled it out of his pocket and handed the pouch to the older man. Nicolas was elderly looking at least that's what his disguise gave the impression of. "Here you go."

Nicolas opened the pouch and pulled out the stone. He felt it in his hands and knew that this was his Stone, the very first one that he had made so long ago. His eyes were tearing up and looked to his wife. "This is it," he said. "It really is it. It's back."

She too had tears in her eyes. She loved her husband and had supported him in his every decision even if she never felt right about some of them. "Thank you," she said to Harry.

Harry was only smiling at them, happy to have returned their property. "You're very welcome," he told them.

They smiled back at the boy, relishing their good fortune that the boy was honest enough to return their property. It was obvious that he was curious about the field of Alchemy, so he truly didn't have to return the stone until he had studied it. However the timing proved to the Flamels that he truly wanted to give them back their stone.

"How can we ever repay you?" Nicolas said in his joy.

"I need for nothing," Harry told them. "I would like to know the answers to my questions, though. However if you can give the names of some books that I can purchase to study from that would be even better."

"If I may," Crasgrasp said. "You all realize that with Harry's words only I will be able to recall this meeting. I would suggest that you write yourselves some notes in the matter and hand them to me. I would then give them back once you step out of the room."

"That would cover our tracks," Nicolas said. "Very well young man, you write down your questions and I will write down a list of recommend books for you to study from."

They couldn't use their own papers, but the goblin pulled forth what they needed. Harry already had his questions down, but he re-wrote all lot and added quite a bit more. Meanwhile, Nicolas was making a list of recommended reading and study for the boy. They exchanged these and Nicolas noted which books had the answers that Harry was looking for next to the questions.

Perinelle was writing Harry a personal note, plus one to herself, knowing that her husband would not recall the reason why they were there.

Once done all the papers were sealed by Crasgrasp and when he had pocketed them, they all stood up to shake hands. "Thank you once again, Mr. Potter," Nicolas said shaking Harry's hands enthusiastically in his joy.

"If I may," Perinelle said approaching the boy. Harry nodded having an idea about what she wanted. He was right. She hugged him tight enough to convey her sincere gratitude, but not too tightly as to smother him.

He hugged her back and said sincerely, "You're both very welcome."

"Now remember," Crasgrasp said. "Once you step out of the door, I will be there to explain everything. Perhaps the Flamels should leave first." They agreed.

The Flamels left the boardroom and felt a momentary dizzying sensation, like they had lost a small portion of their memory. However, there was a goblin outside the door that explained a bit of the conditions that had been invoked by accident. "Please do not blame the boy," Crasgrasp said. "Mrs. Flamel, you've written a note to yourself. Please read it when you can."

"Of course," she said. She opened it then and there. She gasped and asked, "Is this true?"

Crasgrasp nodded and said, "It's in his pocket. Get home and avoid being seen. Have a good day."

"And to you and yours," she said. Her husband was looking at her crookedly, but after these years he trusted his wife and knew that she would explain when she could. "May your coffers be filled with gold," she said.

"May yours continue to prosper," he replied and watched as they left the building with a hidden escort. The goblins really did like the Flamels. They were an interesting couple and they were among the few Humans that they actually liked and tolerated with preference.

Harry stepped out of the room and held out his hand for the notes. "I remember," he said to his estate manager.

"You have a strong will," Crasgrasp said. "So do they, but they are aged and can be affected by things that they are not exposed to on a frequent basis."

"You mean that they have hidden themselves away from the world and may be left out of touch from some of the events," Harry said. "Perhaps, they just haven't had a constant exposure to the magics that surround the rest of the World."

"That is exactly what I meant," the goblin confirmed. "Is there anything else that I can help you with today?"

"Not really," Harry said. "I will be staying the night at the '_Broken Sword Inn_' because I will be meeting with a friend at the Tea Room on Canisantiquuis Lane tomorrow. I'm planning for my last petition to occur on the twenty-first, so maybe I'll finally be able to obtain proper camouflage bracers from Risuslux after that. I will send word about when, after it is done."

"Very well, Mr. Potter," his estate manager said. "May your coffers be filled with gold."

"May yours continue to prosper," the boy replied. They shook hands and Harry left to look through the books stores and book catalogues for the recommended reading and study list that he had just received from Nicolas Flamel.

-----

In Devon, Nicolas was waiting patiently for his wife to compose herself. He watched as she read a note that she had obviously written to herself. They were surprised at that, but then again they must have had a very special reason for leaving the protection of their home.

"Dear," she said. "Why don't you make sure that nothing was disturbed while we were away? I just need to read this again in peace. I'll tell you what it says, I promise."

He looked at her fondly and said, "Yes dear."

She smiled back at him and made a shooing motion with her hand in order to chase him out of her vicinity. Once he was gone, she sat down to look at the parchment in her hands. "Penny" was written on the top. That's how she knew that she had written the note.

She opened and began to re-read it:

-----

_Penny,_

_This is a reminder to you, as the boy invoked a bit of magic that he was not aware that he had access to. That boy is something else! _

_He returned the Stone. The first one Nicky made. The one that had been stolen by someone trusted. The boy returned it and only asked Alchemy questions from Nicky._

_Nicky had written a letter to the boy and given him a list of books and study material in order to further his studies. He didn't ask for money, he really didn't ask for anything that was impossible to give. You still have the correspondence request to take a meeting at Gringotts. _

_You can show it to Nick, but please destroy it after you've done so. I wouldn't want anyone to realize that we are not going to die anytime soon._

_The Stone is in Nicky's right breast pocket, you know the hidden one that he uses to hide items from detection, like the Cherry Bombs that he likes to suck on. _(i) _Nasty habit …_

_Harry Potter is a good boy who did the __**right**__ thing. Support him when you can. Don't let __**any**__ others persuade you otherwise. He didn't have to return the Stone at all._

_Always,_

_Penny Ninny Ellis_

-----

Reading the final signature confirmed that this letter was written by her own hand. She's had to do that a few times in her long life and it is only in this manner she knew the truth when memory spells affected her. She has had her own run in with memory manipulators and therefore she had learnt to write many things down, but not to sign her own name.

Nicolas had returned and confirmed that everything in their home was fine. She smiled and then stood up, went to him, playfully petted his chest, until she tucked in a hand and pick-pocketed the right breast pocket.

Her hand retrieved a bag of that awful candy, but she also felt the power of the first stone made by her husband. She smiled brightly and pulled everything out.

She held out her hand, fingers together and palm up. His eyes were pricelessly wide at the sight of the Philosopher Stone that was twinkling in the candle light.

"How… Where…" He stuttered. He took it from her hand and felt the sensations that she. "It's _first_ one," he looked at her incredulously. "The stolen one… but how?"

She went to her writing desk and pulled out the correspondence from Gringotts' requesting a meeting on this day. "We've obviously gone and come back," she said showing him the letter. Then she showed him the note to herself.

He read it several times before the information registered. "Harry Potter?" He questioned. "The Boy-Who-Lived… Why would he do this?"

"I would like to think that the boy knew what he was doing," she said. "I would also like to think that we got this back because he is an honourable lad."

He smiled at her, but he knew that the boy was supposed to be under Dumbledore's thumb. "Penny dear," he said. "Believe what you will, but I feel that we must retire elsewhere, just in case. We don't know the particulars of the meeting and I wouldn't want to be caught in the middle of that fall-out. What say you?"

"I've always wanted to move someplace warmer," she said. "I did like Mexico when we last visited that place."

Nicolas liked that place too. Their decision was made together to close up their Devon home and move away for the time being. It was the best decision that they could take at this point in time. They needed to get away from the country and away from Dumbledore.

It was clear that the old Headmaster of Hogwarts didn't know that they had their Philosopher Stone back and they didn't want to be around when he found out, either.

-----

The next day Harry was seated at a secluded table in the Leaky Cauldron waiting for Neville and his grandmother to show up before heading to the Tea Room on Canisantiquuis Lane. The letter that Neville had sent him mentioned that his grandmother needed to meet his friends before they could be invited over. He didn't have to wait for long because he saw Neville stumble out of the Floo.

Neville looked around and spotted Harry right away, but he only beckoned him to follow. They walked into the small courtyard that served as the entrance way or gateway into Diagon Alley. Neville pulled out an old chipped tea cup and told Harry to put his finger on it.

That's how Harry experienced the '_Port to Port Keying_' magical method of travel, _Portkey_ for short name. It was interesting and they were able to talk only a little bit, which is how Harry found out that he had to keep walking within that whirling magical vacuum tunnel. He didn't land on his two feet, but he did drop, roll back up and was able to stand with the minimum of awkwardness.

They had landed in a field. Harry could see a dirt path that seemed to lead to a flickering house in the distance. "That certainly was something else," he said. "What was that?"

"A Portkey," Neville said gesturing that they should get on the path and begin walking. "Takes you from one place to the next, but these things are strictly monitored by the Ministry of Magic. This one is different because it's one that belongs to the house and has been set up permanently to return me to my home, no matter where I am. I can also only take one person with me."

"That's cool," Harry said. "I wish I had one, but the Auto-Floo pouches work just fine too."

"Auto-Floo?" Neville asked. "I never heard of that."

"It's new," Harry said. "It came out last summer, I think. You can have programmed Floo powder that will take you directly to which ever home it's programmed to get you to. Like the St. Mungo's emergency Floo, that way you don't have to shout out your destination in the Floo system, which is quite practical."

"Harry, I thought you lived with muggles," Neville said.

"I do, but just because I live with them doesn't mean I don't know about Floo-Powder," Harry said. "I was allowed to hook up my Aunt's home for outgoing Floo calls only between 1pm and 2pm in the afternoons. It's better than nothing, but I haven't used it yet. Can I ask why we had to come here by Portkey? I thought that you and your grandmother were going to meet me in Diagon Alley."

"We were, but she tripped on one of the crawling grape vines in the gardens and accidentally broke her leg," Neville told him. "Even with a potion to help mend it, it will take longer for her to recover because she's older and her bones are slightly more brittle."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Harry said. They had arrived at a gated entrance, but Harry couldn't see anything beyond the gate. "Wasn't there a house in this direction?"

"You could see that?" Neville asked in shock.

"Just a little flickering," Harry confirmed. "Why?"

"You're not supposed to be able to see _anything_ from that distance," Neville said. He was concerned about that because the house is supposed to be fully protected.

"If it'll make you feel any better, I don't see it now," Harry said. "It was only a whisper that I saw. Kind of like a mirage, not really there, but somehow you think that maybe there might have been."

"I'll have to tell my Gran about this anyway," Neville said. He handed Harry a piece of paper and told him to read it and memorize it.

It said, '_Long way to the bottom is the fastest way up_'. Harry looked at that again and said, "Huh."

Neville let out a small giggle at Harry's shocked expression when the house suddenly appeared at the word, '_Huh_'.

"Trigger word and a spell called _Fidelous_ protect our house," Neville told him. "We have a _Secret Keeper_ and they wrote that down for you, but it only works with the trigger word too. My grand-uncle is a jokester." He looked at Harry and said, "You've just been warned."

"I see," Harry said, but for once he didn't and just shook his head.

"Come on," Neville said, tugging one of his arms. "My Grandmother wants to meet you. I think that she wants to ask you a couple of things too. I just don't know what."

Harry looked around the yard. He was in awe of the yard that he was seeing. It was like something out of a dream. There were tons of colours and frivolous plants that didn't look any different, but he knew that there was something different about the place.

"I don't think I've ever seen anything like this," he said looking at flower that looked like a Honeysuckle on a vine or in a bush, but it was fluorescent pink and burped bright blue and orange bubbles that floated off into the air. He backed away from the bubbles because he didn't know what would happen, if one landed on him.

Neville laughed and just told him to come along. "The bubbles won't harm you unless they are red," he told him.

"What kind of plant is that?" Harry said, while looking at a few of the others around.

"It's called a Bubble-Suckle Vine," Neville said. He pointed out to the purple and yellows tufts that were everywhere. "Those are Lion Tail Puffs."

"I didn't think that there was anything like this in the Wizarding World," Harry commented while looking at the Puffs that looked like the Dandelion cotton balls that the Muggles had in their world. "Professor Sprout hasn't shown us any of this. Why do you think that is?"

"These are decorative only," Neville said. He leaned in to whisper so that most of the plants couldn't hear him. "Many serve no purpose in potions and I think that Professor Sprout is trying to show us about the ones that can work well in potions. I don't see Professor Snape ever giving us a potion that calls for Bubble-Suckles, Lion Tails Puffs, China Cherise or Pod Possums."

He pointed the different plants as he explained a bit about their properties and it made a strange sort of sense. Even Harry didn't think that Professor Snape would use such frivolous sounding plants for his potions. "Maybe their uses are too different for the recipes we need to learn in school," Harry said quietly, having picked up on the need not to offend the plants.

Neville thought about it, while they walked on a cobblestone path that had different coloured marble slats as part of the path leading to the main door. "This way," the curly haired boy said. "My Grandmother is waiting."

Harry nodded and followed his fellow Gryffindor into the magical house. It was far more magical than any of his homes because the houses and properties of his family hadn't been in use for a long while. There was only one bit of property that he had never approached or even considered fixing up.

The cottage that was listed at Godric's Hollow, he had no plans for that place just yet. There was no way that he was ready to go there anytime soon. He also had a feeling that Dumbledore would try to stop him from finding out about the place.

Upon entering the Longbottom House, he was guided to a parlour that had a most imposing woman seated at a tea table with one leg elevated on a footstool. She had grey hair and a white bonnet on her head. It was one of those white frilly things that in the past showed the world that a woman had a married status.

She did look imposing, but Harry wasn't put off by her demeanour. She gestured them to have a seat and began to pour the tea, asking if they wanted cream or sugar.

"Nothing in mine," Harry said politely. "Thank you."

"Neville?" She asked.

She frowned when her grandson dared to say, "Two sugars, no cream."

He always tried to have sugar in his tea without cream. She noticed that the Boy-Who-Lived was watching her actions and therefore for the first time in this house, Neville had the tea that he asked for. Not happy, but knowing how to behave politely and in a civilized manner she never showed it.

She didn't fool Harry though. He could see through it. She looked at the boys quietly sipping tea and she noticed that the Boy-Who-Lived was relaxed. He wasn't even fazed in her presence.

'_I knew that I should have met the boy in town,_' she thought. '_He's not intimidated by me at all. Damn this leg and that blasted vine._'

Harry was asking general questions from Neville, as it seemed that Lady Longbottom was pre-occupied with her thoughts. "Did you finish your summer studies?" Harry asked.

"Not yet," Neville confessed. "I'm having some difficulties with potions."

"Now Neville," his Grandmother interrupted. "You know that to be an Auror, you'll need a good understanding of potions."

Harry looked at Neville's down turned head and had a feeling about what was going in this house with his new friend.

"What's an Auror?" He asked figuring out that that might be the safest question.

"Don't tell me that you don't know, young man," the old dowager exclaimed. "You must know that your father was one."

"No one's ever told me that," Harry said. "I'll admit that I'm curious about what my parents did after they finished school, but the only thing that I can successfully get out of anyone is the fact that I look like my father, but have my mother's eyes. Quite irritating too because after that point the people go on about what my parents were good at in school and from there... Well they all seem to believe that I should be just as good in the same subjects that they were, which is plainly too ridiculous to even think about."

"Are you not proud of your parents' accomplishments?" The old lady asked. "Do you not want to follow in their footsteps to make them proud?"

He looked at Neville with a frown because the boy was slightly pale at that statement. He turned that frown to the lady and blew out an exasperated sigh. "Mrs. Longbottom, my name is Harry Potter, not James or Lily. I am their _son_ and I know nothing of what would make them proud of me or not. I would like to believe that they would have encouraged me to follow my own path, not live out a poor imitation of theirs. If you seriously think that I want to end up dead at an early age, you're sadly mistaken."

The old lady was shocked at the candidness of the boy. "Your parents..."

"I know nothing of them and they are not here," the Boy-Who-Lived explained calmly. "I spent a great deal of time observing parents and adults in a guardian type role. Many of those people only wanted what's best for their children, but they also encouraged their children to explore the world and learn what their place in it should be. I don't know what an Auror is, but I certainly hope that my parents would never push me into such a career, if that was not what I wanted."

"Neville is going to be one," Mrs. Longbottom said. "He'll be following in his father's footsteps."

Harry looked at Neville and understood now what the boy was going through. He shook his head. It wasn't his place to interfere, but he did say one last thing on the subject. "I would like to think that you would encourage your grandson to pursue his own dreams and not try to replace _your_ son with him," he said looking at her with his honest green eyes.

"I haven't heard Neville mention that he wanted to be an Auror. Mind you... none of the boys in my dorm are thinking of their future just yet. We still have too much to learn to be concerned about adult things. Besides all that we talk about is Quidditch, other sports, chess and school. We're much too young and uninformed about possible careers at this stage in our lives."

"You speak very well for someone your age," she commented. "How much education have you had about out World?"

"Since I received my Hogwarts letter," Harry told them. "My aunt could care less about what I do, so I spent most of my summer after my birthday exploring Diagon Alley. I found a store that sold things called Arca Doctrinas, so I bought one and used that to study some of the things that I have been missing." He looked at Neville and said, "If you had one you could learn potions a lot easier than in class, especially since you're a Gryffindor."

"You've been doing well in that class," Neville said. "I'll admit it's a lot easier with you as a partner than it is with Hermione. She's too bossy."

Harry nodded and knew that they were being observed, but he didn't mind it. He told Neville about his Arca and about the basic panels that he chose to have on it first. He mentioned the cooking panel with the greenhouse one next to it, plus the merged kitchen with beginner potions lab. He did say that his favourite was the self-defence and the swimming one.

"You should think of picking one up and setting it up to learn whatever you want to learn," Harry advised his new friend. "There are even excellent panels for whatever your interests are."

It was then that a man's voice asked, "Aren't you Dumbledore's puppet? Shouldn't you have more on that Arca of yours than just the basics because he's your magical guardian? Hasn't he been grooming you since he took you away from our World?"

Harry looked at the grizzled old man standing in the doorway. He looked right into the man's eyes and felt a presence seeking out his secrets. "It's not polite to enter someone's mind without their consent, sir," he told them and pushed the man away from his mind. Stood up and confronted the man, saying, "Who do you think you are? You've no right to probe my mind without the consent of my magical guardian or guardian."

"I have consent," the man said. "Besides I'm an Investigative Obliviator. I have the right to probe a mind if I have probable cause, according to the Ministry of Magic."

"Aren't you retired from that, Uncle?" Neville asked pointedly.

The man looked slightly sheepish, but pursued the conversation anyway. "Retired or not, I still have the right to question the motives of one who lives under Dumbledore's thumb. Boy-Who-Lived or not, he could be here to spy on us."

"I'm only eleven years old," Harry said. "Why would I know or care about anything with regards to you other than knowing your name in passing and that being only due to the fact that you're the relative of a school chum? Besides there is absolutely no way you have received permission from my magical guardian." He looked to Neville and asked, "Does everyone believe that the Headmaster is my magical guardian?"

Neville nodded and said, "Yes. There are some who believe that you've been trained by him since he took you away from the Wizarding World and you haven't been seen." He paused when he heard Harry snort in derision, but continued on, "There are others who believe that you were taken away so that the media wouldn't get a hold of you and others still think that you were sent away elsewhere to be hidden so that you'd never get a swelled head from being too popular, too young."

Harry shook his head and then told them, "I've never once met the Headmaster. He's never seen me or spoken to me in all of the time that I've been living with my Aunt and Uncle in the Muggle World. The only time that I ever saw him before getting to the school was during our train ride to Hogwarts for the first year. It was only because his Collectable Wizard card was the first one that I got from my very first Chocolate Frog box."

The adults were shocked to say the least. The man, who was Neville's Grand Uncle Algie, was relieved that the Boy-Who-Lived didn't know that it was illegal to probe the mind of a child under the age of eighteen without the consent of their magical guardian.

What the man didn't know was that Harry knew, but he wasn't about to take action because it looked like the man actually did care for his grand nephew. The only thing that he did say on the subject was, "Don't ever that again or I'll not be held responsible for the consequences."

Neville's uncle was too shocked by the fact that he couldn't get a solid piece of memory or information from Harry because the boy's brain was too busy swirling with colours and shapes that made no logical sense. That's about all that he could pick up other than a cube like shape.

Harry had studied meditation and knew how to compartmentalize his thoughts and memories because of it. He only needed some gentle prodding in order to protect his mind further. For him it wasn't that difficult because he knew of a way to do it that would confuse the heck out of anyone trying to probe his mind.

He used the basic geometric shape of a cube and attributed colours for base emotions (ii) for each side of the cube. Then he layered cube upon cube with colours and emotions to gain greater depth and storage for his memories and thoughts. Then he made that cube split and rotate.

It was too complicated for many people to grasp, worse was the fact that if he wanted to, he could change the geometric shape into more complicated forms, like a pyramid or sphere. Also he made sure that there were many geometric shapes in his mind as copies of his original that way nothing would be easy to track.

Finally all of the geometric shapes were added to lines of mathematical equations to further complicate the process and confuse the intruders. The whole idea came from a muggle toy that his cousin had stepped on and destroyed.

Harry loved that toy. He actually went out and purchased several in order to continue to improve his mathematical and logical understanding of various things. It did keep his mind sharp and if nothing else came out of it, he certainly would learn how to be tenacious when solving a puzzle.

The conversation soon turned to the fact that Harry had been able to see the house flickering in the distance like a mirage. That's how he explained it to them. "I honestly can't tell you what I saw or didn't see because it felt like an after image," he told them.

"Very well," Neville's grandmother said. "We'll just have to re-set the protections. That's all."

Aglie just huffed and said, "You do realize that it was Dumbledore who set them in the first place?"

"I know, but there's nothing that we can do about," she said. "We'll have to go to him to re-enforce the protections."

"Why not have some goblins re-enforce the wards?" Harry asked. "There are loads of adverts in the papers about companies that have specialists in that sort of thing. I should think that wouldn't be difficult for them to add additional securities to what you already have. I'm sure that if you contract that out, you wouldn't be disappointed. Why would you set your trust in just one man, anyway? Do you want him to have control and access to your home or your lives?"

The adults looked at him like he had just given them gold. He just returned the look and asked, "What?"

"How would you know about that?" Algie asked.

"It's in the Daily Prophet," Harry told them. "You can even go into Diagon Alley and seek out those companies that are specific to building homes and they can refer you to the better security companies. Don't _you_ know that?"

"Security companies, what do you mean security companies?" The dowager Longbottom asked.

"Muggle-born and muggle-raised witches and wizards have opened magical security companies," Harry told them. "That's what I've seen. Where's your Daily Prophet? I'll show you."

Show them he did.

There were at least four companies that specialized in magical home security and one that had magical creatures in their employ. "See," he told them. "Why let one man try to control the securities in your home? Surely there are magical contracts that these companies can be bound to in order to get the best possible service."

Because of this and a short while later Neville's grandmother found nothing to object about Harry, so she told them to go to Neville's room, after her grandson showed their guest around the house for a bit. The boys took off quickly, as they didn't want to remain in the presence of such a forbidding kind of woman nor the crazy old uncle.

"Your relatives certainly are colourful," Harry said to the curly haired boy.

It was Neville's turn to snort at a comment and he replied, "You don't know the half of it. This was just them acting on their company behaviour. You just wait a bit until they get to know you better."

"I don't know that I want to," Harry told him. "Is she really going to force you to follow in your father's foot-steps and what's an Auror anyway? They never mentioned that."

"An Auror is a witch or wizard who works in the Magical Law Department," Neville said. "They are the ones that investigate magical crimes and sometimes they hunt down Dark Witches or Dark Wizards."

"So why didn't they do anything about Voldemort?" Harry asked. "Surely they could have gotten him before he came into so much power."

"I don't know," Neville said. "The adults never say anything about him, but they mostly lay the blame on the fact that he has followers. Some adults believe that the Dark Mark, an evil looking tattoo that's found on the followers was one of the reasons why they could barely keep up to the bad stuff that was happening."

"Oh," Harry replied. There wasn't much to say about that because it's not like the adults would talk to the kids. "How's your summer coming along?"

They began discussing the fun that they were having and how much of their homework that they had been able to finish. Harry helped Neville out with his potions essays and told the boy that if he needed to borrow some books from him that he was welcome to do so.

"Say Harry," Neville began.

"Yes?"

"Do you really have an Arca Doctrina?" He asked because he couldn't remember that Harry had already shown it once to him and that was only for a very brief moment on the train. "I mean you weren't just talking about it for fun or to challenge my grandmother or grand-uncle."

"I really have one," Harry told him. "It's really cool too. The time in there is different and this is something that had been tested over time. I asked the shop keeper to explain it to me, plus the bonus is that it's one piece of magic that cannot be detected in the Muggle World."

"Wow," the shy Gryffindor exclaimed. "Have you told Hermione about it?"

"Are you insane?" Harry teased him. "She's enough of a nightmare right now. Can you imagine if she had one? She'd go on and on about it forever and probably force me and Ron to get one too. Not only that, but she'd question why no one else had one and why they were never mentioned. She'd even begin to question her education at Hogwarts and try to find out whether it's worth it or not. No… No… I will _never ever_ tell her about it. As for Ron, well he lives in the Wizarding World, doesn't he? He should know about them anyway. You did."

Neville nodded his head and said, "Yeah, that's true. It's not like they can afford one of those. You'd think that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would have thought to get one when they had their first child. It probably would have helped their family in the long run to have one." The boy sighed and said, "I wish that I could get one."

"Why don't you?" Harry asked. "It's not like they're that expensive, besides they're not that popular anymore. Think about it. What kid wants to do extra school work?" Neville gave him a sly look. "I know… I know… Hermione, but she's unique. Think about the rest of normal kids and not just the Ravenclaws."

"You're right, but there are certain things that I need to study and have been studying for a long time," Neville said. "I just don't think that I'd have enough time for an Arca."

"Neville you do know that for every regular hour out here that three go by in the Arca, don't you?" Harry asked.

"Three?" Harry nodded and was surprised when Neville left at a run. "Grandmother," he shouted in the house. Harry was shocked that the boy would even raise his voice to his grandmother. "Grandmother… Where are you?"

"She be in the parlour still, Master Nev," a house-elf popped in front of them. Harry was following, wondering just what he had done.

Neville rushed into the parlour and said, "_Three_ hours in an Arca for every one out of it. Why did you lie to me? If you didn't want me to get one, you should have just told me."

"I'm sorry son," she said.

"I'm _NOT_ your _SON_," he yelled. "I'm your _GRANDSON_. I care about my parents and I still love them, but I do NOT want be them. I want to learn different things and I don't know that I even want to become an Auror. That was your idea and I absolutely hate milk in my tea. That's how my _father_ liked it."

She was shocked. He had never spoken out to her before. "You will not take that tone with me young man," she said. She looked at Harry and noticed his wide eyes, but also the pleased look on his face. "This is your doing," she accused. "He would never have spoken out like to me, this is all… your… fault."

"I doubt it," Harry said calmly. "He _was_ sorted into Gryffindor House. We are all very outspoken and pretty much a stubborn bunch of people. I'm certainly not surprised that he knows what he wants and doesn't want. I'm more than sure that he would have spoken out against your ideals, eventually. There are times when we, kids, should no longer be coddled. We have the right to choose what we want, even if it is just to learn with an Arca."

She watched her grandson raise his chin up stubbornly and she knew that had lost. "I didn't want my son to be forgotten," she said. "I've raised my son and now have to raise his. I'm doing the best that I can, given the past circumstances."

"I do not fault you for that, Gran," Neville told her. "I really would like to be able to catch up on school work and I would like the time to play like others my age. An Arca can only be beneficial now. I can promise you that I'll be very careful. Please… May I get one?"

The Dowager Longbottom sighed. "I don't want you to grow up too fast," she said.

In the end she conceded that Neville could get one and she agreed that Harry could have her grandson over to visit for the twentieth to the twenty-sixth of July. "That way you'll be able help him purchase one and show him how to use the Arca properly, won't you?"

"Of course I will," Harry told them. "I have to be leaving shortly, Neville could we talk privately."

"Sure," he said. "Follow me." He led them out to one of the greenhouses on the property. "This is one of my favourite places. Now what do you need from me?"

"I need an Oath of Secrecy from you before you can even come over to my home," Harry said. "I can't let everyone know where I'm living. It wouldn't be safe. It's just like you with your _Fidelous_ spell."

Neville agreed and gave a complete Oath of Secrecy to keep Harry's secrets and not mention, in any way shape or form, anything about whatever or whoever he may see at Harry's home. He was under the same impression as the rest of the Wizarding World, in that the Headmaster was Harry's magical guardian. So it made sense to him to take such an Oath on a permanent basis.

It was as Harry told him better to take a full Oath for the rest of your life rather than take one on a temporary basis. The shy Gryffindor knew what he was doing in this case or so he thought.

They made their plans to meet in Diagon Alley on the twentieth of July, early in the morning, so that Harry could help him get his own Arca Doctrina.

* * *

**TBC...**

(i) Cherry Bombs: my own version of hot cinnamon cherry pastille or candy drops. It's like Dumbledore's '_Sherbet Lemons_'. The habit that Dumbledore sucks on candy must have come from somewhere, so I say this Flamel is where. (LOL)

(ii) '_Rubik's Cube_'. I used to have three of them, but I also used to own a pyramid one, a spherical one and one that had more than nine squares, I think it had twelve. All of which were harder to solve then the cube, but just as fun.


	12. Chapter 11

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

* * *

Chapter Eleven

* * *

**Year 2 – Part two of... ? "Summertime" II**

-----

**July 20th**

Before the boys were to meet in Diagon Alley, Harry was in his house rushing about making sure that he had a list of everything that he needed to get from that Magical shopping Mecca of the British Wizarding World. His '_specialist_' Arca instructor advised him to pick up more paints and gems from the magical world, rather than the regular muggle world.

"Arry," Hagrid called out to him. "Don' furget ta pick up some treats fer yer owls n' I've a small list o' thins, if'n ye don' min' pickin' 'em up fer me."

"Not at all Hagrid," Harry called back. He pulled a newly made magical satchel around his shoulders to carry the lists and stuff that he was planning to pick up. The satchel had a bit of luggage magic built into the weave of it. He hoped that it would work out just fine. "Severus," the boy shouted, running down the hallway to get a couple of exploding pouches, plus Auto-Floo powder. "Do you need anything from the Alley?"

Severus came from the kitchens with flour dust in his hair. He was baking some pastries for fun. He was dressed in a very relaxed fashion of straight white pants with a button down white shirt, and a baker's apron, no robes. He was dressed for working with the sugars and such from the kitchens.

"Not from the Alley, but could you get some more '_Sherbet Lemons_' for the old coot, he gave me another list for ten more bags. I don't know where all of those are going. I would like you to pick up… Bing… what was the name of that stuff?"

"Jello," the house-elf shouted in a squeaky voice back to them. He was busy kneading the pastry dough. "Muggies chocolate puddins toos."

"Any flavour that you prefer or should I just get a whole bunch?" Harry asked, writing down their requests.

"At least four packages of strawberry flavour Jello and a mix of all others," Severus told them with a gleaming twinkle in his dark eyes. "Same with that pudding stuff, four chocolate and a mix of all others too. Um… forget the tapioca kind it was too volatile the last time we tried to do something with it."

Hagrid chuckled and Harry giggled a bit at that and said, "Of course. Anything else?"

"Check and see if there are coloured stirring rods of glass at '_Potions Plus_'. If there are could you pick up three of each colour for me? That's all, I believe," Severus said as he returned to the kitchen to continue with his baking experiment. He was having fun and Hagrid enjoyed watching the messes that they were making in the kitchens, although he did prefer to watch from the open door of his room and at a distance.

Bong popped up from where he had been working and asked, "Master Harrys, muggsies Pixie Sticks. Pink ones please, blue for Bing."

Harry nodded and added the last of their requests. "All right I don't know how long I'll be, but I'll try to get our personal stuff first, that way I only need to meet Neville and help him out."

-----

Harry was happy that his satchel was holding up just fine because the muggle purchases were quite loaded. '_Ten bags of candy for the Headmaster, ick that stuff is gross. Pixie Sticks, oodles of boxes of Jello and pudding, what a bunch a spoiled brats_,' he thought fondly of his professor and the house-elves. They were having a blast experimenting with pre-packaged muggle boxed baking products. '_Too much sweet stuff, I think that I'm in for a bit trouble when we get back. I hope that it doesn't explode in foam and slime again._'

He was seated at an out of the way table waiting for Neville to show up at the Leaky Cauldron. It didn't long for the curly haired boy to stumble out of the public Floo. "Hey Neville," Harry called out to him. He took hold of the boy's arm and helped him stay up right. "Do you have a lot of stuff to shop for?"

"No," Neville told him. "I just want to browse a bit, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Harry said, leading them into the archway entrance to the Alley. "I have a list of things that I'm to look out for while we're there." He pulled out his regular wand and tapped out the code in order to change the plain brick wall into the Alley's famous entry way. "Let's go," he said.

They were chatting about a few things, when Harry quickly ducked into the Eeylop's Owl Emporium to pick up several treats for his owls. He was looking out of the window and was slowly growing concerned. It looked like he would have to change his appearance a bit because he didn't want Ron or Hermione to spot him and it looked like they were out in Diagon Alley together.

"Neville," he called to the boy. "I need to change a few things about my appearance. Could you keep an eye out for me?"

"Sure," the boy said. Harry asked him if he wanted to have a bit of fun and change his appearance too. "Um," Neville thought about it and then said, "Ok. What do I do?"

"Tell me that you can act the part of a bumbling little old man," Harry asked him seriously. "I do mean bumbling. You can knock a few displays down and not worry about them."

Neville told him that he could do that. He watched Harry added patches to the outer pockets of his summer cloak that caused the whole thing to change colours and shape. He watched as Harry drank for three tiny vials. Harry's hair grew long and his eyes changed colour and shape.

Soon there was a strange Asian boy that looked slightly older than him and he was surprised when Harry said in a cracking accented voice, "Here, drink these and let me get this on your head."

Neville watched as Harry pulled out a stick on patch of skin and covered his scar. The skin patch blended well and the whole process didn't take more than a minute. Harry pulled out another lighter cloak. He had Neville remove his and then he told the boy to drink down two vials.

The boy trusted Harry. Soon he too was sporting a change in his looks with longish greying hair. Harry tied it at the nape of the neck. He had a change of voice with a very pronounced Asian accent and a very wide brimmed hat. It was a typical outfit familiar to rice workers in Asia. It was slightly patched to match Harry's outfit.

"Let's go grandfather," Harry told him, guiding the disguised Gryffindor out of the store. The owners of the store were too busy dealing with other customers to notice that the two boys never left and two people of Asian descent had never entered.

They left the Emporium and made their way down towards Knockturn Alley. "We have to go down here for a bit," he whispered the grandfatherly looking boy. "Don't say a word, but this is where you can bumble a bit, I'll let you know which displays you can knock down. You'll be fine. Just mutter every now and then like you're talking to yourself and trust me in this. The store that sells the Arcas is on that newer street called Novusfelis Path which means we have to go into Knockturn anyway. All right, grandfather?"

Neville nodded and muttered a bit, "All right... I can walk myself, upstart youngsters... mumble, mutter..."

They had a bit of fun knocking down a display in one of the stores that Hagrid requested Harry to pick up a few things. They weren't Dark stuff, but things that the large half-giant needed in order to care for the animals that he was responsible for. Harry was always able to get things and not get cheated out of his money. Hagrid sometimes got shafted, but that didn't mean he didn't know about it. It was just in his nature not to fuss about such things most times.

It was even better when young Ryo Chan and Old Man Chan did it. Although there were a few times that Aurors were called in for the disturbances that the old man did, but they were always let off with a warning because that old man brought luck to the Magical Law Enforcement Department. Aurors were almost always able to find some kind of Dark Artefact because of the old man's bumbling ways.

They couldn't help, but feel that they owed the old man and they kind of liked him too. Most of the Aurors liked him because they reminded him of some of their own absent minded elderly relatives. Today was not any different, although Neville was nervous because of what happened, but with Harry there he felt like he knew what he was doing. It was kind of fun.

They were fine by the time they finally got onto Novusfelis Path. The potions were close to wearing off and Harry made them kind of rush into the _Arc 'A Knowing_. He ushered his nervous friend into a side room and quickly removed their patches. He took the hat from Neville, pushed the centre point of it to make it collapse and they both watched it shrink down to the size of a small Frisbee.

Harry put everything back in his satchel and cloak pockets, while returning Neville's own cloak. They waited for another minute. Soon their hair and voices were back to normal. They were able to step out of the side room and look at the displays in the store.

"Hello there Harry," Joe said, greeting the two boys. He was used to having two completely different people emerge from that side room, but he allowed it because he liked the boy and not just because he was the Boy-Who-Lived. "I see that you've brought me a new customer."

"He's my friend," Harry told him. "Neville this man is Josiah Nicklesworth, but he likes to be called Joe. Joe this is Neville Longbottom."

Joe's eyes widened. "Mr. Longbottom, you've finally received my letter. I'm so glad that you're here now, but you really should have been here at least three years ago. No matter, I'll just go get it from the back."

Neville was stunned. He didn't know what the man was talking about. He looked at Harry, but even the Boy-Who-Lived just shrugged his shoulders and looked just as confused. They watched Joe come back from another room carrying an Arca and a letter.

"I've sent you letters every year since your ninth birthday," Joe explained. "I was debating on whether to send you one this year or not because you never replied to the others. However, now that you've come, here you go."

He placed a dark brown Arca Doctrina on the counter and handed him the letter he had been planning to send. "This is a copy of the letters that I had been sending you each year," the man told the stunned youth.

"I... I... never received them," Neville told the man honestly.

Joe nodded and said, "I figured that must have been the case. I would have talked to Harry about that and asked if he knew you. I'd have gone round that way to send this to you, if you were his friend. However now that you're here you may need a minute to read that. Harry, why don't you take your friend and his Arca into the back room?" He whispered to Harry, "It looks like he might need a bit private time with them."

Harry nodded and took the Arca while showing Neville where he could read the letter in peace. He placed the Arca on a low table and told the boy to take his time. "I'll just be in the store looking around," Harry told him.

Neville was alone when he opened the letter and read the contents.

-----

_My dear son,_

_First you need to understand we love you, but we know how life can sometimes change in a heartbeat. It comes with the career that we have chosen to follow. _

_We've always wanted the best for you and so we hope that you'll study hard and become the very best man that we know that you can be. We've been planning on teaching you and showing you certain things in order to prepare you to attend a school where things are not always what they seem. _

_This gift to you is to give you some of the base things that anyone should know in their lifetime. That doesn't necessarily mean knowing how to fight or defend, but things like basic cooking, researching, writing, languages, etc..._

_We've instructed the owner of the __**Arc A' Knowing**__ to send you our gift for your ninth birthday should anything have happened to us. We know that you'd be kept safe, but we still want the best for you, so in here are the things that we've decided you'd have fun learning._

_You can always add to this ingenious device anything you wish to learn, but please remember to still play and have fun._

_We're looking forward to the day that you become the man that you are meant to be and please remember that no matter what your choices are, we are, we will, we would have been proud of you no matter what you choose. Choose well son._

_All our love to you,_

_Mum & Dad_

-----

Neville had tears in his eyes and for once he was glad that he was left on his own for something like this. His grandmother and uncle must have known of his parents' plans. He looked to the second letter in his hand. It was a basic store note, but this one had sincere apologies if it caused any distress, but the store's owner stated that his parents had set this up for him and that he was expected to pick up the Arca the day after his birthday.

The boy was slightly angry and upset that his relatives would do this, but there was something else that he sensed whenever they talked about the protections of their house. '_Dumbledore,_' he thought. '_Gran and Uncle just don't seem to like the man for some reason. Maybe he had something to do with the letter rather than them. I would like to hope so, but I will let them know about it anyway._'

He took a deep breath and sighed. Then he took the time to look at the Arca. He had never seen one and was curious about them. He wasn't stupid to go into it without getting an explanation on how to go about it.

"All right, Neville?" Harry called out softly from the doorway.

"All right," Neville replied. "Can you come and tell me more about this and how it works?"

"Sure," Harry told him. He walked into the room and sat next to him. He briefly explained what some of the panels were and how the whole thing worked. "You just need to remember to leave once the hour glass at the entrance chimes. You should never turn it around for another go in the same panel without leaving the Arca first. That's when disaster would happen."

"Do you know what would happen?" The boy asked.

"No," Harry said. "I don't want to mess with time and Hagrid told me that there have been incidents where a person can come out and die. They could come out and be very old or else never come out at all."

"But Harry you know how my memory is," Neville told him. "How am I ever going to remember that?"

"I don't know," Harry said honestly.

"If I may boys," Joe said from the doorway, drawing their attention to him. "You could just get a wizard's watch and have one of the designations be, _Leave Arca_. If you bring it here, I could program it to chime at the same time that the sand runs out of the hourglass."

"What's a wizard's watch?" Harry asked.

"It's better if I show you," Neville said. "I think that we passed a clock store just a few doors down. Is there one, Mr. Joe?"

Joe chuckled at that form of address, but he did answer the boy's question, "Yes there's one three stores down on the other side of the Path. You boys should be fine going there. I can keep that here until the two of you come back. I think that after one year of school some of those will no longer be useful to you."

The boys nodded and left the Arca store to go into one called '_Time for All Things_'.

They walked in just as the last of the chimes rang the hour for which they were grateful because it would have been deafening otherwise. They looked at the many displays and Neville took the time to explain about wizard clocks, wizard watches and witching timepieces that were ornamental as well as useful.

"Loads of witches and wizards have these because they're mostly connected to their property and family," Neville said. "Each hand is designated or linked to someone that you consider family by their own magic. Instead of a regular muggle looking clock face like the one you're wearing, the numbers for the hours are replaced by designations of purpose."

He led Harry to a large faced grandfather clock on display. "See this one has the basics of '_Home_', '_Traveling_', '_Causing Mischief_', '_Time to eat_', etc... One of the designations can be slotted for real time or you can add another hand to keep the time."

They browsed the counters and looked at the watches. There were several that caught their eyes, but eventually Harry chose a watch that had a leather band that reminded him of Tertia's skin and colour. He was assured that it was not from a snake, but plain died cowhide with a few charms to make it look and feel like real snake skin. He was told that snakeskin was preferred in potions and that this way, using common cow hide, was the best method to mass-produce such things. It's what everyone knew in the Wizarding World and Neville confirmed it.

He bought a kitchen cuckoo clock with several different common designations. Then he decided to purchase a large grandfather clock with the same options, but with a huge main face and four additional little faces for personalizing them to a particular person. The little ones surrounded the bigger one and then actually moved about like floating bubbles, with no fixed pattern, around the main the clock face.

There were a least thirty extra designations that Harry could personalize and add to the grandfather clock to further make it unique to his home. He could always buy more at a later date. He thought that would be for the best because he planned to add Hagrid and Severus to his clocks because he worried about them when they were not around.

The boys, happy with their personal watches, returned to the Arca store and had Joe link one of the watch's designations to Neville's Arca. It was set up so that it reminded the boy to leave the Arca and it was set to chime as the last of the sand fell from the Arca's hourglass.

"Now then let's test you to see about compatibility to the panels that your parents had selected for you," Joe said. Neville was tested for the basic panels because most were set for a boy of nine, not one eleven years old going on twelve.

Harry was giving him some advice about which panels he should think about keeping. He recommended that Neville keep the level one of potions and just add the second one to it. "You're just too nervous in class when Professor Snape teaches, but that doesn't mean you don't have the ability to learn," Harry told him. "That's how I was able to learn and why I can help you in that class."

"But… Harry," Neville stated. "You're barely passing that class, although I do appreciate that you do try to help me."

"My grades don't matter now because we _have_ to take the course until we take our O.W.L.s. They won't matter when the time comes for me to write my O.W.L.s.," he explained. "Class work for that class, well they don't figure into the passing or failing of that level. It's the same for the N.E.W.T.s. courses. Why do you think that most of the classes we're learning are mandatory? Why do you think we have to be taught them at a school?"

Neville shrugged his shoulders because it was not something that he would normally think about. Joe was just listening to that explanation avidly. He was curious as to the answer that Harry was going to give.

"The courses that we're taking in school, is to gain a solid understanding of those subjects only," the Boy-Who-Lived told them. "Not everyone can attend a magical school and not everyone will want to specialize in the courses that are available there. I find that in the long run some of our choices are going to be limited by the school, if we don't do something about it."

"That's a very mature way to look at things," Joe commented.

Harry put his hand on the back of his neck and rubbed his hair in a semi-nervous manner. "Yeah... well, I don't have much of a choice, but to study with an Arca because this world has titled me as the Boy-Who-Lived," he continued to tell them his reasons.

"The people of this world are going to have expectations from me in the future. If I'm not careful now I could fall into a trap of learning only the minimum of things or just learn the things that are being taught at that school. It's already happening because of Ron. Surely you've noticed how Quidditch obsessed he is. I can't let his bad habits become my own. Hermione is pushy about the history and theory of things rather than the actual uses of charms and spells. She's not even interested in practicing them."

Neville nodded. He had noticed it, but it wasn't that extreme. "I can see it," he said. "It'll get worse when we have those extra choices in our third year, won't it?"

"Yep," Harry said.

"Have you chosen some things for fun too?" Neville asked with curiosity. "When I had tutors, we always had time to play and have fun."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that young man," Joe said. "He's got a couple of mentors who give him advice on these things. Don't take me wrong, Harry makes his own final decisions, but he does listen to sound advice when it's given. Now, if I were you I'd let your friend guide you in choosing few good panels to add to that new Arca of yours."

Joe left them to talk about a few things and with Harry's advice, Neville was planning a few things. He selected the first level of creature care of small magical and non-magical animals, basic wizard first aid, potions levels one and two. His parents had selected basic physical training, transfiguration basics, reading and writing for a couple of foreign languages, similar to what Harry had learned.

They had also added the basics of muggle mathematics with a related link to magical maths and Arithmancy, which showed the differences and the connections between them. Magical maths were affected by the surrounding magics so basic muggle math wasn't enough to know, especially if you plan to make a magical building.

Harry was interested in that panel and wondered if there was a panel that he could link or use to merge his current learning schedule of them. Joe suggested that Harry insert the basic one into his library compartment that way he can work with a self-study program through his library to get a better understanding of the links between the two.

He was so intrigued with the idea of learning something new that he called one of his house-elves to the shop and had him bring his Arca to the shop. Neville was shocked to see the actual number of panels that Harry had on it. Harry just looked at him, smirked and said, "You can't tell anyone about it."

Neville smiled back and shook his head because now he knew something about why the boy needed an Oath of Secrecy from him. He was also curious about the house-elf and he watched how Harry interacted with it.

"Harry, master," Bing said, tugging on a sleeve to get the boy's attention.

"Yes," the boy said.

"Acsees-dent," Bing paused and then he asked, "Human burnsy salve?"

It took barely a moment before Harry understood that Bing was asking for a burn salve to aid a human. "One of the cabinets in my bathroom has a brown med-kit with a white circle on the top and a dark red cross in the middle of the white circle," he instructed. "Take the kit to Hagrid and he'll know what to do."

Bing popped out of the store with a tinkling little chime rather than a loud pop. Neville knew that he was not through with learning the differences that surrounded Harry, but he couldn't wait to try his own Arca. He picked out a few panels and asked Harry about a couple of his. He decided to get the crafting one too because he was curious to see what he could do with magics when they were not restricted purely to the schoolwork. He made sure that he had lots of kits of projects to play with for when he didn't feel like doing schoolwork.

It was then that he noticed that there was a different kind of panel under the glass counter. He approached it with caution because he didn't want to break the counter, but Joe just told him the same thing that he had told Harry about the specialized panels.

"If you can read the runes around the border of it, then go ahead and take it," Joe said.

Neville could read those runes, but he was nervous walking around the counter. There was just something that felt wrong about walking into an area that was usually designated for _staff only_. He opened the door and lifted the panel out of it in order to take a better look at it. There was a leafy border around the edges with runes interspersed in the vines and a huge tree in the middle with roots dangling down.

He looked to the store's owner for an explanation and he was surprised when he received it. "It's a specialty panel that contains a tutor that specializes in teaching you the magics that only you can harness," Joe told him. "I don't want to know what the border says, but know that it might be best for you to go into that one without turning the hourglass right now. Your tutor in there may be able to give a bit of advice. Just set your watch to chime after five minutes."

Neville looked at Harry and the boy just said, "Go ahead. We've still got plenty of time and I've a feeling that you're going to need your tutor's advice. They may actually need you to purchase things in order to improve your learning within that panel." Harry shrugged and said, "Why don't you go and I'll just stay here and visit with Joe?"

"If you don't mind," Neville asked nervously.

"It'll be all right," Harry said. "You'll see."

Joe had Neville bring his new panel to the Arca and he was able to set it into the trunk without a problem. It wasn't like Harry's where the boy's own Arca was filled with panels of learning. Neville was new to the process and he didn't seem that confident with his own magics.

'_This Arca will help him out with that,_' Joe thought. '_With a little help from Harry, this boy should soon grow out of his awkwardness around magical things. His parents always believed that he would become one of the strong ones._'

Neville moved the panel pieces, like a muggle party favour puzzle, shifting them in order to get his special panel in the centre slot. Once that was done he placed his hand on the tree and he was about to place his other on the handle, when Harry reminded him. "Neville, you need to set your watch to chime after five minutes."

The boy released the hold he had on the tree of his special panel, set his watch to ring after five minutes and then quickly placed his hand back onto the panel. Before he lost his nerve, he put his other on the Arca's handle was sucked into it in order to meet his new tutor.

Five minutes later, the boy was pushed out of the trunk by the magics of the Arca and he was shocked to see that only five minutes had gone by. It felt like he had been in there a lot longer. "Wow," he said. "Um... Harry?"

"How was it?" His friend asked him.

"Interesting," Neville said truthfully. "I was told to go to a wand shop in Canisantiquuis Lane. I was also told that I had to get my own wand."

"Didn't you get one before our first year?" Harry asked. "I thought all students needed a primary learning wand that was in tune to their magics... I guess that's not quite true because Ron's using Bill's old wand. I wonder if that affects spells being cast."

"It does," Joe said. "All right boys, I think that you're all set. Why don't you head to Ollivander's first and then to the girls in the Lane."

"Good idea," Harry said. He called to his Arca to him silently and instructed it to fit into his pocket. Neville watched in wonder. "You just tell it that it has to fit in your pocket and it will. Won't it Joe?"

"It will," the man said. Neville looked nervous because he thought that he might lose it, so Joe did a little tweaking and said, "Now it's linked to your magic. It cannot be stolen or lost. All you have to do is call out to it and it will come to you. Harry doesn't need to speak out loud anymore because his is already so in tune with his magic that it recognizes his non-verbal requests. Use it often enough and it will program itself to follow your orders, so you just keep on using it. Now off you boys go and don't forget to visit me next summer."

"Thanks Joe," Harry said.

"Yes," Neville agreed. "Thank you for everything Mr. Joe."

-----

In Ollivander's shop the old man was having fun again. "Mr. Longbottom, I wondered why you haven't been in to see me," he said. "Using your father's wand is good only for certain spells and it's not really in tune with you because it is an offensive wand. I'm sure that it will be an excellent back up wand for you in the future, but for now let's find you your primary learning wand. I'm more than certain you need something different because your temperament is not quite what your father's was when he first came to get his wand."

The little tape measure was busy measuring Neville's arm and when it was done it went on to measure many things including Harry again. Harry growled at it and scared it off, but it came back whipping its tape at him as though trying to hit him. It was a harmless thing and Harry was enjoying the little mock-attack game.

Meanwhile, Neville tried wand after wand, after wand, until finally he hit on a cherry wood and evergreen twined together. The core had three hairs from a unicorn tail and three hairs from a wood fairy braided together. "Most interesting," Ollivander muttered. "Very, very… well that is most interesting."

"What?" Neville asked nervous at the reply.

"Why?" Harry wanted to know.

"That particular combination represents a strong affinity for the earth element," Ollivander said. "It's not much done nowadays, but in the past witches and wizards used to study certain elements because they had an affinity for it. This wand is a perfect representation of that affinity. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but I wouldn't advertise it. People are funny about that sort of thing."

Neville felt very calm and peaceful now that he had his own wand, but he didn't know where to store them. Harry gave him a couple of patches for his sleeves that turned into pockets for the wands. "You can actually put the pockets on the inside of your sleeves in order to hide them," he said.

"That's very clever young man," Olivander said, watching how the pockets stuck and how they worked. "Could I get a couple of those from you? They would make wonderful gifts."

"I'll have to think about it," Harry said. "The patent is still pending approval at the Ministry, but the pattern has been copy written to me and I'm allowed to continue to test them and use them as long as I don't sell them for now." He smirked at the strange man, "There's nothing stopping me from giving them away in a bargain, but I'd have to come back another day to negotiate that. What say you sir?"

Ollivander chuckled and said, "You are shrewd young man. I accept that sometime in the future you'll come to haggle." He walked into the back room, effectively dismissing them as their business with him was essentially done.

"Come on Neville," Harry said. "Do you need to pick up anything in the Alley before we head out to the Lane?"

"Actually, I do need some planting pots of many different sizes, but I think that I can get those on my own," he said.

It didn't take long for the boys to make their way to Cass Elea Wand Specialists. Cassiope was sitting in the main part of the store, when the door opened and she saw the Boy-Who-Lived walk in with another boy. She smiled at them and wondered if Harry was going to ask about panel augments for his specialty panel. She had a few new ones find their way to her store.

"Hello Cass," Harry said. "This is my friend Neville Longbottom and he needs a specialty wand."

Cassiope blinked and looked at the boy standing next to Harry. It was like she was judging him, but she wasn't. She was just looking at him to try and guess what his panel was all about. "Have you gone into your panel?" She asked.

"Yes m'am," Neville replied.

Her eyes were wide and Elea walked into the room just in time to see that expression and she began to laugh. "Oh young man, I like you," she said.

"Shut it, Elle," Cass said. She shook her head to clear her shock and asked, "Now then young Neville, do you have any hobbies generated from that panel yet."

"No," Neville said in confusion, not quite understanding what she was asking.

"He just got it today," Harry told the shop owner. "He hasn't had time yet to develop a hobby, but maybe you've already got one related to it."

"What do you mean Harry?" The boy asked.

"Well, the gardens at your home," Harry said. "You told me that you take care of them and the greenhouses too, so maybe you already have a hobby that is related to what you'll be learning in your specialty panel."

"You're right," Neville said. "The reason I was to get pots and such was to bring some of the plants I've been working at home into it in order to study them further, even just the fun ones." He looked to the shop owner and said, "I love to work with plants. Does that help?"

"Indeed it does," Elea said, as Cassiope was pulling out the two trunks of wand-making supplies. "Now don't look through tops or the openings. Just place your primary wand hand into the opening of the first trunk that calls out to you."

They watched as the nervous boy reached into the trunk with the cores. He had closed his eyes, taking the no peeking request to another level. He opened his hand as instructed and soon he had two cores that settled into his hand. He pulled it out of the trunk and had a look at them. One was a golden apple and the second was a tiny silver snail. Both were emblems, portents and symbols of many things.

The golden apple was featured in many of the muggle fairy tale stories that Harry had read when he was younger. The colour use of silver and symbolism of snails was a completely different issue. He had a feeling that they were related to the wizard version of fairy tales that he had yet to read, but he did pick up a couple books on them and they were in his Arca's library.

Their significance was never what they seemed and Neville was quite happy with them. He quickly repeated the process to get the wood for his wand and soon he had all the pieces in order for it to be constructed. Although he was quite surprised at the length of the wood that he pulled out from the other trunk, it was a seven foot tall sapling of a redwood tree. The diameter of the thing was as thick as his thigh.

"Well young man," Elea said. "It looks like you're going to be one of the lucky ones to get a staff made. The staff can shrink to look and work like a wand, which I believe you'll have to do until you reach you full grown height in a few years. However, you must realize that it can only transform into those two lengths. It will never be a walking stick, so never ask it to become one, understood."

"Okay," he said not quite knowing what was going on. Cassiope explained to the confused boy that some wizards and witches needed a wand, staff or walking stick in order to help them harness their full potential. Usually that came with the study through the specialty panels.

"Speaking of…" Harry said. "Have you been able to find any augments for mine?"

Cass groaned as Ellea chuckled and said, "I told you he'd ask."

"Serves me right for betting against such a thing," she said handing over three sickles. "How about you come with me Harry and we'll let Elea make your friend's staff. It shouldn't take too long."

Harry watched as the older of the two women explained to his friend about the specialty panels and about Wizarding staffs. His attention was drawn back to Cassiope as she pulled out four augments. "Do you have your Arca with you?" She asked.

Harry pulled it out from his satchel and placed it on the counter that the shop owner had indicated. He noticed that once his Arca had settled him large double specialty panel opened up six slots.

"Will it be difficult to get more to fill up the extra slots?" Harry asked, as he watched her had the four that had found their way into their shop.

"Not really," she said. "But it does take time for them to come into being. You were lucky the first time that you came here because we had a few on hand. That was because your panel had been in the Arc 'A Knowing for the longest time. These four appeared sometime during the last year. Others will show up when the time is right. Don't you worry about that."

Harry smiled and once his Arca was back in his pocket he was watching Elea put together Neville's staff. Neville's staff was coming together quite well. The boys were both intrigued by the process and Harry asked, "Is this a similar process to imbue objects with magic?"

"Somewhat," Cassiope confirmed, watching her lover pull together the magics that called out to them as wand makers.

The redwood shaft used the ambient magic in the room, the magics from the specialist that called to its forming and it pulled from one that it belonged to. It was actually using Neville's own magic to come to life. It grew a branch that took hold of the golden apple and in essence it swallowed it whole. It did the same thing with the silver snail.

They could all see the way that the staff pulled the cores and how they were pushed into place to settle. The staff's width was reduced as a triple knot was formed at the top of the staff with a closed bud shaped like the apple in the center of the fist-like knots. Another knot in the shape of the snail's shell formed at a position that was relative to where the hand that held the staff would more comfortably hold it.

The gold and silver that came with the cores, spread up and down like vines of ivy with leaves and runes in the twists and whorls of the vines. The glow from the making of it was diminishing fast, Elea called to the boy. "Neville," she said. "Take hold of your staff and claim it."

Neville was nervous about this, but because he already had his primary wand, he was feeling more confident in this. '_Taking the staff shouldn't be any different than getting my wand,_' he thought.

Boy was he wrong. Finding his primary wand was nothing compared to claiming his staff. In fact his new staff; was putting a claiming mark onto him as well. It had extended tendrils of gold-green and silver-green onto his hand and when he brought the staff naturally into a defensive hold, more tendrils wrapped around his other hand.

These tendrils released healing pods into his flesh, not they any of the others were aware of it. The tiny pods sought out all negative magics within the boy and cleaned him out. Harry was slightly aware that some healing was taking place because he was very familiar with the feel of healing magics.

"Harry," Neville called out. "I need you to burn the tendrils so that my staff will release my hand. Not a harsh fire, but a healing one."

His honest brown eyes hand a greenish-golden glow coming from them. "I know you can do it," he said trustingly to the boy who was fast becoming a good friend.

Harry pulled out his walking stick, that was currently in wand size and change its length to match that of Neville's staff. He turned his concentration onto the strongest tendril of ivy vine and said, "_Ignis Sanus Fira_." (light healing flame)

A bluish-purple flame emerged from the tip of his staff, to plus a moment and the travel the path that the vine had taken on Neville's hands. The flames matched until the base connecting vines were found and then Harry said, "_Sanus Firaga Secare_." (healing fire sever)

These words caused the flames to heat up and severed by fire the connecting feelers that Neville's staff had implanted in the boy's hands. Once severed the tendrils retracted into the staff, but the spells weren't finished. The second level of heat had heated the metal shapes that had formed on Neville's hands and soon there was the smell of burning flesh in the store.

Harry wasn't finished because he was being guided by the magics in the store, Neville's magics, the magics that belonged to the store owners and his own. He concentrated harder and said, "_Sanus Bliza... Gelu Aura... Sanus Aura._" (healing cold… frost breeze… healing breeze)

The words froze the metal without causing further damage to the skin under it and the breezes cooled the air around the affected hands. Neville refused to release his staff and that was all right. His staff was now considered a living thing, but it was like a wand, a tool to be used with a specific purpose.

Unfortunately his hands would be permanently marked because of it, but the markings could be manipulated into hiding. They also needed a bit of re-enforcement from the other metals found in the magical world, but that was something that he would discover tomorrow.

Harry kept the healing breeze whirling around and instructed Neville to try and move his hands. The boy had to flex his fingers and test the healing that he had received before Harry would even consider halting the breeze.

Neville removed one hand and flexed each finger, stretching his fingers and palm completely and then forming a fist. He repeated this process several time with both hands until they were only mildly tingly from the effort.

Harry stopped what he was doing in order to allow the ladies to show his friend how to shrink the staff to a wand size and back, there was no mid-size or walking stick for him. They waited until he was comfortable and then Harry asked, "Do you think that's enough excitement for today?"

Neville grinned and then started to laugh. "I think so," he said. "I don't think that we need anything more."

"Just a moment child," Elea said. "Take out your Arca please."

Neville looked at her strangely, but did as she asked. There on that _Specialty_ panel of his were a few open spaces already. He was surprised and when he looked at Harry, he only got a shrug in return.

The ladies had three augments already available to add to it. "There you are young man," Cass said. "Now you should be able to learn a bit more. Come and see us next summer and we may have more augments for this panel then."

"Off you to go," Elea said.

Harry asked, "Neville are we done for the day in the Alley?" The boy nodded and so Harry asked the ladies if they could use their Floo. "I've brought some Auto-Floo with me and I was hoping to be able to use it."

"Of course you can," Cass said. She pointed to the main store Floo and said, "Go right ahead. Don't forget to come and see us next year."

"We won't," Harry said.

"Thank you m'am," Neville said to each of the ladies.

Harry handed him an exploding pouch and told him how it works. Soon the Gryffindor boy was whizzing through the fireplaces and he landed in Floo Room with a couple of landscape paintings and one huge portrait.

"Hello Neville," the portrait said. Neville was stunned to see the life size portrait of Harry Potter.

Harry appeared out of the Floo just behind him and said in a chuckling tone, "Neville you need move so that I can get out of the Floo."

"Sorry," Neville said. "I just didn't expect to see... to see..."

"Yeah, that will take some time to explain," Harry told him. "Come on, let's get you settled and I have to deliver a couple of things. Bing..."

The house-elf popped in and Harry asked which elf was assigned to his new guest. "Ivy," Bing called out. "Ivy this be new young guest."

She was a smaller house-elf and she was slightly shy. She smiled at the guest asked, "I show sirs the way?"

"Please Ivy," Harry said. He turned to Neville and said, "Let her take you to your rooms and that way you can settle in for a bit. Let her guide you around the house and then down to the kitchens. That's where I'll end up after I go take a shower. If you need to take a nap, which I think that you might because of the magic that you expended in the making of your staff, let her know when to wake you up and have her let us know about it. All right?"

"All right," Neville said. "That actually does sound like a good idea and I think that I will lay down for a couple of hours. You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all," Harry said. "Just make yourself at home." He watched as the little house-elf guided the other boy out of the Floo Room and pointed out some of the doors in house.

Harry in the meantime was curious about who got burned and why. He made his way into the kitchens in order to unload his satchel on the counter. He saw that his first aid kit was still on the nook's table and he figured that they hadn't needed it.

Bong then explained that they still did need it because Hagrid was helping Severus to wash up from the baking that they had done. The little house-elf was putting the boxes of the muggle sweet desserts away when Hagrid came into the kitchen carrying the Professor.

Severus was wearing the brown leather pants that he had acquired from the half-giant and a cream coloured tunic style top that had long sleeves. The man was always self-conscious about his Dark Mark, even if though he was fully welcomed into this house, he didn't want to get into the habit of exposing it. The man was blushing a bit from embarrassment of being carried, but there was nothing that he could do about it. It appears that Hagrid liked to hold him, despite having been told that it was his hands that were burnt and not his feet.

"Hello," Harry said, smiling at them.

Hagrid's first reaction was to pull Severus closer to him in order to protect him and then he blushed. He wasn't embarrassed most time, but this time he was conscious of his actions and wondered what his magical ward would think about such.

Severus' first reaction was a sharp intake of breath at the protected feeling he felt when he was clasped closer to that large body of the man holding him. Then he too began to feel slightly more embarrassed, thinking that the boy was going to tease him about being in the arms of another man.

Harry only smiled at them and then asked in a concerned tone. "What happened when I was gone? Who got burned?"

Severus blushed even more, turned to face Hagrid and said, "Would you put me down now, for Merlin's sake? It was my hands and not my legs that were burned."

"Don' be like tha' Sev'rus," Hagrid voice rumbled.

He did set the man down, but only on to a chair next to his and he took the opportunity to run his hands down the leather pants from thigh to knee, liking how they felt. He took one of the man's hands and showed it to Harry.

"What happened?" Harry was curious at how a Potions Master could possibly have burned his hands.

"I was distracted, when I was pulling out the pans from the oven," Severus grouched a bit. "It was an accident, I wasn't paying attention and I forgot to put on those muggle mitt thingys because I forgot that they were not self-levitating pans."

Harry nodded and then pulled out the appropriate salve that would deal with the burns. "I understand that," he said. "What's it now the third or fourth time that you've been distracted?" The boy asked teasing the man.

Severus glared at the boy. "It wasn't like that," he said blushing.

Clearly remembering that the last few times he had been distracted was because of the way that Hagrid had been looking at him. "I was thinking about a potion and its possible ingredients."

Harry was curious and asked, "Which potion?"

"The Wolfsbane Potion," his professor told him.

Harry looked up from the place where he was administering the burn salve to one hand while Hagrid did the same to the other. "I've never heard of that one," Harry stated.

"It's relatively a new potion that I've created and requires a lot of tweaking," Severus told him. "Luckily I know where there is one werewolf that is willing to be a lab rat for me."

"Sounds like you know this person and that you don't really like them," the boy observed.

"Yes well..." Severus dissembled. "That's neither here nor there in the process of creating and brewing. I don't have to like a person to know that they are useful testers."

Harry nodded in understanding and then he asked, "Is it hard to get people to test potions? I would think that a potion like that everyone would want the cure."

"It's not a cure, Harry," Severus explained. "It's a potion that suppresses the wolf's natural urge to attack and kill humans."

Harry was curious about the brothers and the sister that he had hired. From the impression that he had received from them they didn't seem to have a problem with that and there was the other factor that the brothers were adamant about staying with their sister during her change.

"Maybe there is more to it than that," the boy speculated. However he shook his head and decided to speak to that family much later that summer. He looked at his professor's hands and asked how they felt.

"Much better, thank you Harry," Severus said. "Don't put that away," he said, speaking of the first aid kit that Harry had been about to close up. "I'd like to see what it contains."

Harry just shrugged and pushed the kit over. "I'm going to lie down for a bit," he told Hagrid and Severus. "Neville's here, but he too needed to lie down. We expended a bit of magical energy today when we were at Cass Elea's Store." He turned to look at one of the house elves and said, "Perhaps you could make us a stew using this." He pulled out one of the '_Cauldrons Full_' recipes that he had tested. "You don't need to add any spices, just follow the recipe exactly. Okay?"

"Yes, master Harry," Bing said.

Harry left the men to discuss other things and went to bed down for a couple of hours too.

-----

Several hours later, Neville woke up feeling refreshed. He'd had a chance to see a bit of the house as Ivy was guiding him to the guest section of the house. He was feeling hungry and there were sumptuous smells coming from somewhere in the house. He went down the stairs and easily found the kitchen by following his nose.

"Hey Neville," Harry said from the table in the nook area. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes," the boy agreed. "Whatever that is, it smells wonderful."

"It's just stew," Harry said, pointing to the huge crock pot on the island in the kitchen. "Help yourself, bowls are in that cupboard and utensils are in the top shelf of the island counter." He took another bite of the stew in front of him.

Neville had no problems finding the items and soon both boys were eating their fill. They went back for seconds and Neville asked, "Will you show me how to use my Arca today?"

"Sure, if you like," Harry agreed. "There's something that I want to ask you first." Neville motioned that Harry was to continue speaking. "As you can see by this house, I've taken possession of my families holdings. I'm nearing the end of an outdated ownership ritual and I was wondering if you'd like to be present when I finish it."

"I've heard of that," Neville said. "My uncle thinks in a bunch of old nonsense, but my Gran always said that some of our old ways should never be mocked or forgotten."

"She sounds like quite a wise woman, Mr. Longbottom, perhaps you should follow her advice," their potions professor said as he walked into the kitchen to wash his hands at the sink. He then helped himself to a bowl of that same delicious stew. "This is quite good Mr. Potter, I wonder where you got the recipe for it."

"In that set of potions books I told you about Sir," Harry said. He turned to ask Neville if he was feeling better, but he was suddenly struck with the need to giggle and laugh at the stunned expression of his friend.

"Neville," he called out waving his hand. "Woo hoo, Neville… Wakey wakey."

Neville blinked a couple of times and dropped his spoon into the stew causing it to splash up a bit and stain his shirt. He was still blinking when he registered that Harry was waving at him to get his attention. "Harry," he whispered and nervously pointed in the direction of the man. "Why is… is… Professor Snape here?"

"I asked him to be a part of the ritual too," Harry said. "He's been here before. Is there something wrong Neville?"

"N.. no... not really," Neville said. "I'm just surprised and confused because I never expected to see one of our professor's here. That's all."

Harry smirked and said, "I know that's not all, but honestly Neville, Professor Snape has been made welcome in my home just like you have. I also need his help to set up my potions lab and I need him to be here to receive the Blessing on be-half of the teachers at the school. It's kind of part of the ritual."

He looked at the man hoping that he knew that he was welcome here anytime. Severus looked at Harry and nodded his understanding. He knew that the Boy-Who-Lived was only trying to put the other boy at ease.

"Well I guess out of all the Professors at the school you could choose from, a Slytherin is the best choice for this," Neville said. "I mean I know that _they_ can keep secrets. I don't think that I would have trusted any other not to blurt things out."

"Thank you Mr. Longbottom for the resounding approval," Severus said sarcastically.

"Maybe while we're in Harry's home you could call me Neville, Sir," the boy requested trying to get over some of his nervousness at being in the presence of the Gryffindors' most disliked Professor. "I don't want to be reminded of school while I'm here. This is my holiday time and I'm quite surprised that my Grandmother allowed me to leave our house like she did, so I'm going to take advantage of it."

"We'll see," the Professor told the boy. He hoped that he wouldn't be asked any potions questions while he was here. Harry was quite adamant that he wasn't invited over to brew potions, but that he had the freedom to choose to do so when the urge struck him.

"Tomorrow, we'll be a bit busy getting things ready for the Ritual, but we'll add you to the chore list on the day after," Harry said. "That way you can honestly tell you Grandmother that I did put you to work, just like I promised I would. Tomorrow morning would be a good time to explore your Arca and tonight we can go over the Ritual and what you can probably expect me to do. I don't want you to be surprised."

"All right," Neville said pushing away his soup bowl. "That was very excellent stew. I hope that I can get the recipe from you."

"No problem," Harry said. "Professor, since we don't know any copy spells yet would you mind copying out the recipe for Neville."

"Not at all Harry," Severus said. He too finished his meal and took his bowl to the sink. Knowing that the house-elves wanted to clean he left it there with a bit of water so that the residue of the stew wouldn't stick to the rim of the bowl. "Are you planning to bake any bread tomorrow?"

"I was thinking about it," Harry said. "Do you want me to?"

"Please," the man said. "I'd love to have some toast made of it."

"Zucchini steaks too, I take it," Harry said in a teasing tone.

"Of course," the man said. "I'll just be in the library. Come find me when you want me to copy that recipe."

Harry nodded, as he too placed his bowl in the sink. Neville imitated them, while Harry wrote out a list of ingredients and food that the house-elves had to take out for the next morning for their meal.

"Here Neville," Harry said, showing him the agenda of chores under the kitchen's cuckoo clock. "These are the chores that we share while we're here. I don't take away from the elves, but... and I don't know if you know this, but my house-elves don't cook much. Most times I'm the one doing the cooking, but I don't mind because the professor and Hagrid let me experiment."

"Hagrid," Neville said. "He's here too?"

"Yes," Harry said smiling. "Now remember you've taken an Oath to keep my secrets, so now I can safely tell you that _he's_ my true magical guardian. He has been for a long time now."

Neville was stunned and then he grinned. "So that's why you asked about Dumbledore and if people in our World thought that he was your magical guardian. I take it that the Headmaster isn't even aware that you've another magical guardian."

"Nope," Harry said. "If he still believes that he's my guardian, I'll continue to let him think that he is for now. I'm waiting for a few other things to happen before he finds out."

"I'm not going to ask you what you're waiting for," Neville said. "I know that you're going to succeed at whatever it is you need to do, so I'm not going to ask."

"Thank you," Harry said. "Now why don't I show you my library and you can read about the Ritual while I get Professor Snape to copy the recipe."

Neville agreed and they spent the remainder of the evening exploring the books that Harry had found in the '_Nexus Junction_' where Novusfelis Path and Canisantiquuis Lane meet.

-----

In the morning the house was filled with the scent of fresh baked bread. They chose not to have breakfast, as they chose to do a mini-fast, just like Harry had done previous times for this Ritual.

Harry was getting that special wagon filled up with his gifts. The house-elves from every property had collected the milk that they were planning to give and even Harry's hired hands found out what the boy was about to do. They decided to add their own gifts too and the house-elves had agreed to add them to the cart.

He had explained to his friend that the Professor was there to guide him out of the forest and that Neville didn't have to come along. Neville stopped him there saying, "I'm curious about it and I want know more about this Ritual."

In the end they were all ready for the final phase of the Ritual of Seasonal Blessings. Harry pulled the wagon-cart and once they were at the entrance of the forest he told them, "I'll be going very slowly, but only step where I step and don't pay any mind to the magics that I'll be doing. Oh and Neville, don't say anything out loud, promise."

"I'll do my best," the boy said. It was a very honest reply and it was the best that Harry could expect from him at the moment.

Harry centered himself and pulled out both of his wands. He used his primary want to pull the cart and he used his other to distribute his gifts to the toadstool rings. He took one step and sent forth a sprinkle of glowing light in all directions to light up the rings of mushrooms. He then sent a gift to the centre of with a sincere wish that each ring receives one, but with a practical understanding that there was the chance that he could miss one.

Hence all of the extra cameos that he hoped the Lady would distribute the rest to the missing rings. Little did he know that he was getting help from Severus and Neville because they were making sure that Harry didn't miss any ring within that small forest glade, they made sure that each ring received a cameo.

Almost an hour had passed before they even reached the stepping stones into the main fairy ring where the final step of the Blessing was about to take place. Harry only looked at the other two and gave them a wink in order to put them at ease, he was even smiling. He pulled forth the wagon and began to empty it with the contents containing the first harvest of his lands.

In other parts of the world, his hired hands and elves had stopped their work and faced the direction of the forest where Harry was conducting his Ritual. Once the foods had been emptied from the cart, the cups of fresh milk floated out and Harry's eyes were huge at the sight.

He didn't know about them.

He also didn't know about the field flowers that had been added or the bits of dirt and foundation dust from his existing and torn buildings. There was even, one oil lamp from the castle that he was planning to renovate for witches, wizards, squibs and the families of muggleborns. That way they could visit a magical place, but still have access to the modern muggle electronics. It was still at the idea stage, but Crasgrasp loved it, anything to make good money.

Harry just didn't know about these extras and his shocked expression was the food of giggles to many childish teasing voices floating about the Stone Alter that contained the offerings. He was smiling so much and was so happy that he even had a few tears in his eyes. This was how much respect he had gained in such a short time from all of those linked to him. He was just plain surprised, proud, happy, and humbled that they all thought well enough of him to do such a thing.

He cleared his throat from the emotions that had gathered in there and kneeling down on one leg, he said in a choked voice, "I come on this day to seek the Summer Blessing for my lands, holdings, family, mentors, tenants, teacher and friends. Bless me and through me all of mine."

There was no teasing this time because the fairies had earned their laughter at his surprised expression. The Lady was there from the beginning and had witnessed it all. She looked to the other two and noticed that the half-giant was there as well. The big man had learnt to walk the same path of his magical ward without treading on the fragile mushroom life.

She smiled at all of them and began to speak. "My dear child, you've greatly outdone yourself on this day. You've more than earned the green fruit from the orange fig tree."

She beckoned the others to come forward and she bade Harry rise from his kneeled position. Severus automatically placed a hand on his right shoulder, while Hagrid placed his left hand on the boy's shoulder and his right on Severus' shoulder to show his acceptance of him. Severus was comforted by the large bulk that he felt behind him and leaned back a bit showing trust and acceptance in turn.

Neville stood at Harry's right hand and he had his staff out and planted in the ground, like he was prepared to defend the boy. He was standing straight and proud, despite his nervousness at this situation and the fact that he was still only a child.

The Lady smiled at them and whispered, "You've stalwart champions, understanding friends and a loyal family, young man. You are unique."

She sighed and then said directly in his mind, '_The fruit you've gathered is the last that we are permitted to give to this world. Crack them open and merge each seed per fruit together with your magics and then plant them when and where you will. I do give you this advice, plant at least ten at that castle of yours in order for it to succeed, at least four here at your home and two at any place you wish to convert into a safe haven for magical creatures.'_

"I would gift each with a familiar, but that is beyond _my_ means," she told. Harry was about to protest, but she stopped him. "I know about your little one, she's is the best one for you. The Fruit of Legend has been brought forward for the last time to the Wizard Humans."

Again she whispered in his mind, '_They need to swallow a merged seed in order to __**birth**__ their own familiar. Your Human magical law cannot take them away, if they come forward like that. It takes three to seven days. Yes, you may give this __**gift**__ to whomever you choose. It is up to you when and where you chose to plant the seeds, even in this manner._'

Harry bowed at that and waited for the remainder of the blessing. The Lady was whispering to each of them and blessing them in her own way. When she finally turned to Neville, she gasped and said, "An Earth child. We haven't seen one of your kind…in a very, very long time."

She turned to Harry who had a twinkle in his eye. "You're of…," she stopped. Looking into the boy, she sought out his secrets and he let her. She backed away amazed at his strengths and some of those strengths were visible around him.

She turned back to Neville and pulled a strand of growing vine and turned it into a strong '_Faerie Strand_'. She told him to hold out his hands. When he did, she placed that '_Strand_' of foreign magic and metal onto his. The metals merged together to form a barrier and magical protection.

The Lady then said, "Your magics will no longer be affected because of the metals you carry now. I suggest that you get the same from the goblins of the earth. Now, Earth Child, know that we do not expect the same from you and we cannot return the seeded offering that your friend has earned. Remember when it is time for you to seek our Blessings. Follow him in his honesty and hard work and you'll be Blessed in other ways."

The Lady looked at Harry and felt the others that were connected to him by the previous blessings and she sensed that his people, his workers and all house-elves linked to him were waiting still for a sign that he had succeeded. She smiled at that and said in a voice that carried on the wind, "I Bless You All."

The Fairy Queen bent over and kissed his right eyelid saying, "For your tenants, lands and holdings," a kiss to the left eyelid, "for your homes and family" and one to his forehead, "for your mentors and friends, present or future, may you all live and live well."

The fairies were more than pleased with everything and scooped it all up, bringing it to their home. The boys and men left the glade and knew that they would never be able to return to it because it would no longer be there. There was a strange sound behind then and when three of the four looked back they saw the Stone Alter with the stepping stones appear to shift and move to a small clearing, without toadstool rings.

They watched as Harry ambled in a sleep walking manner, heading near the centre of his lands. He faced the South, where the warm winds came to feed the crops and forced them to live again after a long winter.

He brought his hands to kiss his fingertips, barely touching his eyelids and he kneeled down on the ground, putting his forehand to the frozen earth. "I pass this Summer Blessing into my lands and all lands and flora connected to me through the roots of the Earth," he said with sincere gratitude and a strong exhale of air.

He stood up and walked to the main entrance of his home. The others followed and watched silently, as witnesses to last portion of this amazing Ritual. They felt the strength of his sincerity and honesty flowing with the magic that he contained.

Harry kissed his fingertips, brushed them on his forehead. He then placed his hands on the stone step of the entrance way to his personal home. He said, "I pass this Summer Blessing into my home and all foundations connected to me by the paths that my ancestors had taken to acquire, build and gain them."

He stood up and walked around back to where his current house-elves were waiting. They were waiting patiently outside and in front of the water pump, facing the house. The others that accompanied Harry stepped away from his side and joined the little elves.

Harry blessed two main house-elves, plus Ivy and Munch, who was called to be the one to serve Professor Snape this time around, who were standing there waiting. He knelt before each house-elf and kissed their foreheads saying, "I pass this Summer Blessing to all those who work for me and through them all others, I thank them for their loyal support, including all of their hard and honest work."

He turned to Neville and smiled at the boy's shock. Harry's eyes were swirling with a burnt yellow-orange and green swirl. He took the boy's hands and kissed the tips, where the Oath of Secrecy was held and then he kissed the boy's forehead saying, "I pass this Summer Blessing to my friends, present and future. I thank you for your Oath and for your loyal and silent understanding. I pass this Blessing onto you and through you all of your family with sincere hopes that time will heal the effects of the past and lead you to a good future."

Harry turned to his Potions Professor and smiled, trying to put the man at ease. He did the same with him, but also he kissed each eyelid and said, "I pass this Summer Blessing onto you my teacher and mentor. I thank you for your hidden kindness and silent understanding. I pass this Blessing to you, Severus Salazar Snape and through you to all those you consider family with the sincere hopes that in the future when difficult things come to light, you will have all that you need around you to live and live well."

He turned lastly, but definitely not least to his magical guardian, a very big man with a heart of full of sunshine and mush. He kissed him on the cheeks, his eyelids and forehead, saying, "I pass this Blessing to you, Rubeus Hagrid, my magical guardian and family. You've taken me as yours and you didn't even realize what you had done. I pass the respect that I know I would have had for my parents onto you, may you continue to support and guide me. Be there for me, no matter the future holds and know that I will always be your child from this day forward."

Hagrid had big fat tear drops in his eyes and he caught the mischievous light in the boy's eyes as he leaned in to whisper something just before passing out. It took a moment for the large man to comprehend what the boy said, as he was busy catching Harry to prevent him from crashing to the ground.

He lifted the boy in cradling manner and hugged the unconscious body, as it snuggled into the security of the large arms. Hagrid was finally able to recall the words and that had him beaming for nearly the rest of the day.

'_Father, I'm still going to go through with my plans to get emancipated early though._'

* * *

**TBC...**


	13. Chapter 12

**Warning:** Mpreg (imagery only and very temporary, _**it's not**_ what you think)

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

* * *

Chapter Twelve

* * *

**Year 2 – Part three of... ? "Summertime" III**

Harry didn't wake up until the next day as the final magics for the Landowner Seasonal Blessing was pulled from him into his lands, holdings, tenants, all worked, his new friend and his family.

Neville spent the rest of Harry's recovery time in his Arca, coming out to get food and help from Hagrid and Severus. He was still nervous and shy around the other men without Harry's presence. However, he would do what he could to begin a good study program around the things that interested him and around the things that his parents had wanted him to learn.

Hagrid was in and out of his own Arca that he chose to leave at Tertia's Way for the time being. He had more free range during the school year because his work was dictated by no one. He planned maximum use out of his own Learning Trunk from those free weekends, plus his own Arca had fewer panels to learn from.

Although, due to his interest in animals, Severus had suggested to the larger man that he invest in a few panels that involved animals, animal care and the teaching of animal care. He suggested that the larger man learn from a small child's perspective first and produced a couple of shrinking potions and youthening ones that only youthened the body, but not the mind.

The larger man was grateful for them and was soon learning that those that were vastly smaller and definitely weaker had good reason to fear some creatures that were far larger then themselves. Hagrid was pleased that the man was willing to give him advice on these things.

The Potions Master only ducked away and said that it was his pleasure. He blushed as he hastened away because he had heard the rumbling words that Hagrid had sent his way. "One day I hope to witness your pleasure," he said wistfully.

Severus had spent most of that day in the larger shed re-finishing some of the furniture by hand. He was trying to avoid Hagrid. He had felt the need to work with his hands and not his mind, not that he couldn't do that with his beloved potions, but he was so used to brewing that his mind would have been filled with thoughts that he didn't want to think about just yet. That's why he was patiently learning to strip the furniture from the house-elves using the magical tools that were on hand.

'_It's interesting to see what else can be done with magic or magical tools, when you've only learnt some things in school,_' he thought intrigued by Harry's idea of re-finishing old furniture to sell or use. '_Mastery only gets you stronger in your preferred subject, but I've never learnt how to work with these things... I have a feeling that Harry will not be seeking Mastery in Potions, but I know that he does appreciate how difficult the subject is._'

Hagrid was worried that he may have advanced his affections much too fast regarding the prickly Professor Snape. He had been secretly courting him by giving the man potion ingredients from the Forbidden Forest for this past year, but with Harry's declaration at the end of the Blessing, the large man realized… that there is always more to a person then just the job they do.

Harry had pointed out other factors that caused him to transfer his personal Blessing to the group with his very specific comments. '_It means that there is much more to that beautiful man,_' Hagrid thought. '_It's '__**that more**__' that I want to get to know in time. Harry was right. I can see it now. Severus has become a mentor to the boy. Neville is loyal and he does seem to want to become one of Harry's good friends._'

Hagrid was surprised at the very last declaration, the one that young Harry Potter thought of him as a father or in a fatherly light. '_He does come to me for advice and he did spend his Fridays with me when we're at the school,_' he thought.

On the heels of that he recalled how Harry freely gave him affection and accepted the affection that Hagrid bestowed without thought. '_That's the best kind of affection that the boy should have received all of his life. He is a strong and brilliant lad. I promise to do my best by that boy... my son._'

-----

The following day saw Harry awake a preparing a huge breakfast of fresh baked bread, eggs, bacon and of course Severus' new preferred breakfast food, zucchini steaks. The boy was full of energy because of the sleep that he had and he had lots of plans to follow through for the day. He wasn't too sure where to begin, but he did think about the merging of the fruits.

'_Nah,_' he thought to himself. '_I'll just spend the rest of Neville's visit doing the things that we were planning to do. I'll do that merging maybe the day after and then the planting on my birthday. The day after my birthday we're going to be too busy shopping in Diagon Alley… I wonder if there are other magical shopping areas in the world that I can visit… I wouldn't want to limit myself._'

He had a small wireless radio in the kitchen to ease his mind while he puttered about in there. He had taken a speech preventative potion to stop him from singing along with the music, it was only temporary. That didn't stop him from sometimes beating out a tune with a spoon against the counter or on drinking glasses in the sink. He also bounced around the kitchen, moving to the beats and rhythm with calculated moves from his physical training and dancing instructor.

His '_specialty_' panels were all about elements and emotions related to elements. This included acting, movements and dancing, colours of the world and his magical link to it all. He learnt moves to dance with emotion and without emotion, just like he learnt to fight hand to hand by copying the specialize movements time after time after time.

Hagrid was the first to see the boy jigging in the kitchen with wild movements, tossing food here and catching it there. He didn't say a word for fear of distracting the boy, but Harry was aware that he had an audience now.

It was Harry's own form of training because how was he to know that he could act or not, if no one ever witnessed his efforts. He continued to move about with quick swipes and plops of the ingredients. Even his house-elves were there watching him, they were seated on small stools in an out of the way corner.

Severus came down and was in the doorway observing the boy and the moves that he was doing. He walked to Hagrid's door and asked, "How long has this been going on?"

Hagrid shrugged. He beckoned the other man to come and share his two-seater bench just inside his room. Severus looked at him for a moment, but remembering his quiet resolve from the day before to let things occur as they will, he joined the half-giant.

A few minutes later, Neville came in and was too entranced by Harry's movements, but Harry was just putting the finishing touches on their breakfast. He pulled out his wand and sent the dishes leapfrogging one over the other until they were situated on the table in the nook. He levitated drinking glasses and sent spinning in lazy circles, end over end, to land upright on the table. Jugs of milk and juice were placed gently on the table without sloshing their contents.

Harry put away his wand, bowed to Neville's direction in the doorway, he bowed to his house-elves and finally to his father and mentor that were seated in Hagrid's doorway. "Hope you enjoyed the show," he said cheekily his voice cracking as it slowly returned to normal. "Breakfast is served."

Neville caught up in the moment clapped and so did the house-elves. He moved into the kitchen's nook and soon the boys began to plan their day around assigned chores. "Harry," Neville said, calling out to his friend in order to get his attention. "Do you have some place in your house or grounds that we can go a practice some of our first year spells? I'd like to see the difference with my own wand."

He'd been struck with an idea and if Harry's home allowed Harry to do some spells then he should be able to get in some practice with his new wand. He was looking at his friend, waiting to hear the answer.

Harry thought about it and wondered just where they could practice without interfering with the building magics that were taking place in the house. Minor repairs were still being done and Harry had chosen to move his bedroom so that it was on the floors above Hagrid's own rooms.

"The small shed," Harry said absently. "I don't know about practice dummies, but I think that there are some old furniture cushions that we can use because they're too moth eaten to do anything else with them. Isn't that right, Bong?"

"Yes, Master Harry," Bong said from the sink where he was washing up the cooking dishes and pans. "They be in tent, next to big shed." Bing was out in the gardens, weeding and the other two that were here for the guests were happy to clean up in a house that was actually being used.

"Thank you," Harry said. "We can pick out some of the worst ones and use those as practice dummies."

He knew that using the smaller shed would cause the others to ask some questions, especially if they notice that three of the walls are covered with black & white images of Hogwarts' corridors. He had painted three different time periods of 20, 50 and 75 years ago (i).

The fourth wall, Harry had decided to leave stark white in order to be able to know which direction to go towards in order to leave the murals. He wasn't worried that Neville would accidently step into the mural images because they were Harry's creations and they were spelled for him alone. He could step into any of them without a spell word, but if another wanted to do so they would need him to come along and have his permission.

"I'll admit to being curious about that shed, Harry," Severus said to the boy and Hagrid nodded indicating that he too would like to see it. "Would you mind if I joined you boys? I could point out your strengths and what you'd need to work on?"

Harry looked at Neville and saw that the boy was nodding his head. Obviously any help, is good help. "All right," Harry said. "The shed is much larger on the inside than out. So you should join us Hagrid. That way you can practice your own spells too."

It was agreed that in about a little over an hour and a half they would meet there to begin training. Harry needed that extra time to figure out how he was going to explain the murals that the others were sure to discover. Their afternoon would be taken up with the tasks that the boys had decided to do, chore wise.

'_They're currently behind ceiling to floor canvas tarps, but I'm not naïve enough to believe that there isn't going to be a chance that they wouldn't be knocked down,_' he thought. He did hope that they wouldn't say anything, but that wasn't a realistic thought because Professor Snape would surely notice himself walking down the corridors of Hogwarts in the year 1972, when he was only twelve.

'_I guess I'll just wait and see,_' he thought, while swimming in his pool panel. He like the repeated movements and the going back and forth with the various strokes he learned to swim.

The others were on their own, waiting for the time that they would meet up in the shed. Severus was looking at Harry's box set of beginner potions books, called '_Cauldrons Full_'. He was wondering why he had never seen such a set of potions books before and was writing to a few of his older colleagues in the field of Potions, to find out if they had ever heard of such.

Neville and Hagrid were each in their own Arcas studying their own favourite subjects. They too were anxious to re-train their magics for first year spells. Hagrid was wondering if the others were going to say anything about the fact that his wand was a pink umbrella.

'_I wonder if I can get another primary wand, now that I'm learning again,_' Hagrid thought, as he was walking towards his boy's mystery shed. It was one building that he had never stepped into because he respected the boy's need for privacy.

They were waiting; they all had various expressions of amusement and one of slight exasperation, as they watched Harry run up to them with wet fly away hair and an armful of books. He wore a green sleeveless t-shirt, a pair of well-worn jeans and his usual trainers. The others were similar dressed in clothing that was comfortable to them to cast the spells that they were going to study.

Harry came from the house carrying several books from his Arca and library in order to assist with explanations. "Sorry," he said to them. "I was just getting some books to give us pointers and reminders."

He hissed at the door of the shed to unlock it, while pressing his thumb to a small side plate where the ringer would have been. Only Hagrid knew that the boy was speaking in Parseltongue. Harry had keyed many of his more secure locks to react to the hissing undertone of that language, but he wasn't stupid enough to have that as the only locking mechanism. His own cousin, Dudley, had broken many of the locks on his bedroom door just because he wanted to trash his cousin's room before Harry had returned for the summer.

Harry learned a little bit about lock picking and locksmith techniques along with his manipulation of various metals. It wasn't difficult for him to learn these things and to him it was all listed as hobbies in his mind.

"Please come in," he told the others. He said, "You lot, open UP," out loud for the roof shutters to open up and let in the natural light.

Bing and Bong popped in with their different bell like tinkling sound and brought the '_dummies_' that they had made with their own magics. They made them to look like scare crows of different sizes, but they also brought feathers, pots, old china that matched no fixed set anymore and a few other things in order for the Humans to practice their magic with.

The house-elves popped out of there because they had other things to do. Truthfully, they didn't want to get tagged with the spells that the others were going to do. They didn't always have the best of masters and the ones that were the most awful actually tested spells on them. They didn't have to worry about it anymore, not with such a kind master like Harry Potter.

The boys and men planned out what they should begin with when the house-elves left. They started with the transfiguration and charms that they had learnt at the beginning of the year. Moving through the more complicated things, levitation, transfiguration basics, wand-movements and spell enunciation.

Severus noticed that Hagrid was using a pink umbrella and Harry just shook his head when the professor was about to ask what was going on. Neville caught on about not asking about the umbrella from observing the other. He decided to wait for an explanation too.

The Potions Professor was in his normal teaching mode and barked at them a few times. However, Neville definitely caught on much more quickly by this method for the charm spells. For transfiguration, Harry was stronger in explaining the spells and about concentration, but Severus did help there too because he was quite familiar with '_clearing his mind_' of nonsense.

Hagrid needed to work on his movements and that's when Harry suggested that the man gets a dancing panel or a yoga one. "It would help you to learn how to stretch you muscles and get them to move in the maximum movements you need for the spells," the boy said.

"Ye think so?" Hagrid asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "Your muscles and body are used to certain movements because you repeat them day by day. They're already trained for them. Surely you've noticed that over time some things became easier, as you do them more often. I'm not saying that you need to have advanced lessons in dance or things like that. You just need a little something extra to teach your body different moves, like stretching."

"You seem to believe that the body should be trained, as well as your mind," Severus observed. "Why?"

"My cousin used to chase me around the neighbourhood in order to try and beat me up," Harry said. "If my body looked like his or if I hadn't trained to run away, how often do you think he'd catch me? As it is now, he tries and I make sure that he still runs a bit, but he's got a few friends that are faster and they will try to catch me for him. I don't let them, of course."

"I want you to stand at other end of the room," Severus said. "Put away your wands. I want you to try and come to me while I'm casting. Try not to get hit."

Harry cocked his head to the side and thought about it for a moment. He smiled because it sounded like a fun kind of test. He nodded and told the others to step to the side of Severus so that they could watch, but not get hit. He put his wands away and did a little bit of stretching as he was walking to the other end of the room.

He turned to face his professor and listened to the man as he said, "Just come forward, try to avoid my spells and try to disarm me. I'll only be using first and second year spells."

Harry nodded and waited with a strange form of concentration that surprised everyone else. He looked like he was stepping into a battle.

Severus began and missed, as Harry side-stepped the first spell. The man was saying the spells, showing the movements and how clear enunciation was important. Sometimes he said the spell words softly, but clearly and other times he shouted, proving that volume had nothing to do with successfully casting a spell.

The potions professor was saying the spells much faster now, but he was still proving to them that enunciation and form was the key. Soon he wasn't even enunciating verbally because truly there was no need to fight as such. He was truly testing Harry now.

The spell light was flashing and Harry was running in bursts, jumping to the side, cart-wheeling away, flipping backwards and forwards to avoid getting hit. He dropped and rolled a few times. Other times he looked like he was flying through the air spinning around to avoid the spells.

Every time that Severus missed he growled, knowing that the spell should have hit the boy, but it was like Harry was too fast. Hagrid was amused by it. Neville was surprised at how Harry was moving, but he was also the only one to realize that his friend was cheating.

'_Well, I guess it's only cheating if he's using his wand,_' the boy thought. '_Maybe it's unconscious. I certainly hope so._'

Severus was getting more frustrated and Harry was getting closer. In the end Harry disarmed his professor with a complicated set of pressure point moves because the man was taller then him. He reversed the order of the pressure points in order for the man to be free, but he waited for the acknowledgement that he had done as asked.

The Potions Professor was stunned that the boy could move well and quickly too. He looked down and that's when he noticed that some of his spells didn't miss, but the boy had never reacted to them. There were a few cuts and it looked like the _Petrificus_ hit the boy in his leg, paralyzing one them. All in all the man was quite impressed that the boy was living up to the name that the Wizarding World had given him, but that he was doing it on his owns terms.

The man sighed and said, "Well done. Let's get you fixed up and..."

That's when one of the canvas tarps crashed to the floor in a mess of practice dummies and broken china. Everyone looked at where the noise came from and that's when they noticed full wall mural.

'_Of course it had to be the 1972 one,_' Harry thought, swallowing a lump when everyone turned to look at him. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I guess you'd like an explanation about what you're seeing."

"Tha' 'ould be nice, but I'd prefer ye ta be healed firs'," Hagrid said. "Severus, could ye please say the counters ta the spells still on 'Arry?"

"Of course," Severus said, slightly distracted to see a young, black and white, Lily Evans walking down familiar corridors. He shook his head and said the counter spells. Luckily none of the spells mixed and could be countered without too much thought. "Mr. Potter would you please..."

He was again struck at how young everyone seemed. It was then that he noticed himself talking to Harry's mother. It looked like they were discussing something of interest.

Neville had seen pictures of his parents in their old year books and the photo books that his grandmother kept around, but he too was shocked to see them alive and walking around. "What is this Harry?"

Harry sighed and the explained. "It's a mural of the past. See the date at the bottom right hand corner. That is _when_ you are looking at."

"Arry," Hagrid asked. "'Ow is tha' even possible?"

"It's one of my talents," Harry said. "It's not a common gift because not everyone can handle seeing the past and not do something about it. It seems that I can. It's not perfect, yet, because I can't use too much colour, but for now I can see quite a bit of the past if I'm familiar with the building or corridors."

"How much have you seen?" Severus asked.

Harry looked at him with a shuttered look in his eyes. "Quite a lot," he said, giving the man a hint that he had seen something of the school's past, when in fact he was only referring to some disturbing things that he had witnessed happening in the past. "This is how I know which books to make a note of and get."

"Those weren't random book requests?" The potions professor asked.

"No," the boy said. "I was studying history, both magical and muggle. Overtime I learnt to read lips and in a couple of languages too. So I knew where to look for the famous and not so famous people in the world. I knew from them and their own libraries which books contained the information I needed to further understand my preferred subjects."

"Harry, can you see any point in time?" Neville asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "I do have to study maps first in order to pinpoint locations and the times of certain events. Why do you ask?"

"I'm curious to know if you've gone to see the night that your parents died." Neville asked.

"Not yet," Harry admitted. "I know that I will, but not yet. I don't think that I want to see it alone, but then again I don't know if I really want to know. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Neville said. "Some things are better left alone. Sometimes I can't help, but feel that there is an answer that I'm missing from the past because I don't know what happened."

"Exactly," Harry said. He turned to look at his professor and explained that he had his parent's school trunks because for some reason his mum had sent them to his aunt. "She couldn't destroy them, so she gave them to me. My mum had diaries of all her years, my father only started out in his third year. I like to look at them and try to figure things out from their point view as written against what really happened, although I have a very bad feeling that I won't like my father too much. He wrote often about great jokes he was planning against Slytherins, which sounded down right mean."

Severus just closed his eyes and looked away. It was at time like these that the boy reminded him too much of his father. Hagrid looked on concerned and asked, "Are ye all righ' there Sev'rus?"

"A moment if you please," he requested, turning to the mural that contained his youthful past. The others gave him the space he needed. He walked up to the 1972 mural and watched as some of the events unfolded. He half-heard the others discussing what Harry had under the other two tarps, as he was suddenly hit with a few school memories by just watching them unfold.

Harry had revealed the one painted of 75 year in the past because he felt that it would be safer. "I was just curious about the courses and the teachers," he explained. "Most of the courses that they had aren't even listed at Hogwarts now, so I wanted to know why."

"What about the other wall?" Neville asked with curiosity.

Harry smiled mischievously and said, "Do you want to see a young Hagrid?"

The other boy nodded and Hagrid groaned, "Arry..."

"Yes," Harry said, projecting innocence. Hagrid just gave him a look and so the imp said, "I was only curious. If you don't want me to show it, I won't."

Hagrid sighed and said, "I don' mind, bu' let's leave the questions fer layter."

Harry nodded and caused that tarp to roll up too. He pointed out some of the differences and he did say that their current Headmaster was only a transfiguration professor at that time. They watched a series of events that surprised them.

Harry had studied that particular moment a few times and finally he had to ask, "What was in that, Hagrid?"

He was referring to the box that Hagrid kept bringing food and dropping it into it. He was also surprised at quickly that whatever it was escaped the box and out the window. He didn't like that it was Professor Dumbledore that snapped Hagrid's wand. He didn't like it because from the rules that he had read, it was only the Headmaster that had that authority. Dumbledore wasn't even the Deputy Headmaster at the time.

The large half-giant sighed and it was Severus that asked, "That wasn't what I thought it was, was it?"

"Aye, it was," Hagrid said. The boys were confused, but the large man told them what that creature was. "It's an Acromantula."

Neville gasped and Harry frowned, asking, "Why would you be expelled for that?"

"It was classed as a dangerous Dark Creature by the Ministry of Magic in 1952," Severus said. "It must have _just_ been classed as a Dark Creature while you were in school, but you shouldn't have been expelled for that."

"It was, but there were other thins tha' was happenin' a' the time tha' caused panic," Hagrid told them with a shrug of his heavy shoulders. "I wasna' given a chance ta explain. They though' tha' Aragog was the cause o' their troubles, cause the troubles went away after tha'."

"That's not fair," Neville voiced out loud. He was angry on the large man's be-half. He never liked things that were not fair.

"Nothing in life is fair, Mr. Longbottom," Severus told him.

Neville lifted his chin and said, "I can want it that way. I can live my life that way too."

There was something profound in that statement. Anyone can live their life that way, but Harry was sure that Neville was the first person he ever knew that actually did try to live his life like that.

"Isn't there a way to fight the decision against you," Neville asked Hagrid.

Hagrid was pleased that the shy Gryffindor wanted to stand up for his rights. "I don' rightly be knowin'," he confessed.

"There is," Harry and Severus said at the same time with the same tone of voice too. Neville looked at both of them and tried not to burst out giggling. They were both glaring at each other with the same twitchy corner of their mouth, trying not to laugh.

It was Hagrid who chuckled first, seeing the same thing that Neville was seeing. Those two had obviously spent a lot of time in each other's company to have developed a bit of the other's personality. Severus was of course the more intimidating of the two, but Harry always tried to get the man to crack.

Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. This time however was one of those times where laughter eased the seriousness of the conversation and could turn it into something workable later on. They all cracked around the same time and were laughing for while, until the time in the room chimed to let the all know that they still had other things to do that day.

The remainder of Neville's visit was filled with chores and fun. Harry had already decided to re-paint the walls for 1972 and 1917. He kept the mural from fifty years ago because there was something about that time period that he was sure he needed more information on. He left it up to study a bit longer.

Harry told them of his plans and reasons. "I need to paint the Dursley house and street because apparently my mother had set up a Blood Ward around their house. I need to see when she did it and what ritual she used."

"Why?" Neville asked, as he was watching Professor Snape preparing their evening meal on the day before he was to go back home. He was learning more about potions by watching at how meticulous the man worked in other areas of his life. He was also very much aware that the man here was very different in school, but he believed that it had to be like that for a very good reason.

"My aunt knows about it, but it is magic and they absolutely hate magic," he told them. "They want to know if I can take them down or if I actually have to continue living at their place for some time during the summer."

"I think that I've heard of something like that before, but Harry blood magic is nearly forbidden magic by the Ministry," Neville told him. "There are only two or three rituals that I know of that are acceptable to use human blood without being fined or sent to Azkaban."

"Which ones are those?" Harry asked curious to know more about the forbidden blood magics.

"Blood adoptions, some marriages or bonding ceremonies can require a mixing of the blood, the Oaths of Secrecy with a high level of protection, which you very well know, I think blood is used in portrait paintings to imbue the painting with the life of the person they portray and… and..." Neville paused in his recitation, but he just shook his head and said, "I can't remember the other two."

"Internal healing by blood sharing and there are a few times in potion making that human blood is required, but those are very specific and only to be used under guarded conditions," Severus volunteered the remainder. "You two go wash up, come back and set the table."

------

Neville returned to his grandmother's home the next day and found that a few things had changed his outlook due to his time at Harry's. He knew that he could choose his own path. He knew that he could stand up to his grandmother and uncle.

'_It's for the best,_' he thought. He turned his mind back to the instructions that the Fairy Queen had given him.

'_Earth child, learn your skills and accept your gifts,_' she had sent the thoughts to his mind. '_Seek out a friend of mine called Risuslux from the Goblin's Tanner's & Leather Armour Guild. He will have something to aid you in binding the metals in your hands._' He mentioned this to his knew friend and had been surprised to learn that Harry was already acquainted with that particular goblin.

"It's a secret, but those bracers that you saw me wearing at the end of last year were provided to me by Risuslux," Harry told him. The boy then gave Neville a letter of introduction that could be given to any teller to pass on to Risuslux.

"If you need to me to be there with you, just let me know when and I'll meet you at the Bank, all right?" Neville accepted the letter and had it securely hidden in one of Harry's hiding pockets that the boy had given to him as an early birthday gift with several of different sizes.

The boy stepped through the Floo of his home and noticed the difference in a few things. "Gran," he called out. "Uncle Algie... Where are you?"

A house-elf popped up and told him that they were in the parlour talking with Dumbledore. Neville swallowed a bit, but the house-elf made a shushing motion and whispered, "Go to your room and stay there. Theys be calling you later."

"I'll be sleeping," the boy told the house-elf. Harry had given him a first aid kit and several potions that would help to protect his memories and mind, but they only worked when Neville was asleep. It was kind of like sleep learning, but better, safer and faster. Neville had been taking them since the day he found out about Harry's murals. "I'll be asleep for four hours and will only wake up when that time has passed, understand?"

The house-elf nodded and watched as the usually bumbling youth walked away silently. It grinned and knew that the boy was changing for the better. It also couldn't wait to see the results of these changes and how the mistress of the house would react to them.

-----

The flea-market event that Harry had talked to Severus about was going to occur during the first two week-ends in August. Harry had his costume and potions ready for it. He even had a couple of costumes and potions ready for his professor, grinning because he was planning to reverse the roles that the two of them usually played.

Harry was always the young one, while Severus most times played the bumbling elderly companion. One of the reasons that he did that was because as '_Old Man Chan_' the potions professor was better equipped to recognize Dark Objects.

This time however, Harry had a different plan. One that Hagrid wanted to see candid pictures of and the boy planned to record. Harry agreed that it would be interesting. Besides it's not a big deal if there was a boy hanging around his grandfather or grand-uncle asking, "_What's that?_" while pointing at everything muggle.

Harry made sure that there was a muggle trailer set up in behind the displays that they were planning to work. He even learned how to drive a couple of muggle vehicles in order to be seen pulling into the lots and leaving them at the end of the week-end. They were very basic, but he practiced because it was fun to learn about them.

-----

Hagrid was back at the school, a couple days after Harry's birthday, taking care of the school's gardens and tending to the animals of the forest. He collected quite a bit of fresh Acromantula silk for the potions professor, but most of it he had shipped out to the goblins. They paid large amounts of money for the fresh silk.

He was the only one that had access to a whole nest of those creatures and he was the only one permitted to harvest the silk fresh from the spiders themselves. The bonus for the half-giant was that he could harvest from the oldest to the youngest of them, getting a variety of ages. They didn't mind because he was their friend and he actually cared about them.

Severus' summer plans this year were vastly different from the yearly Potions Conferences and Conventions. He was not brewing non-stop for the school or for himself. He did have a small group of _special_ clients that requested specialty potions from him, but he only supplied them based on contracts. All of his contracts for this year had not been renewed because he wanted to do something different with this summer.

He apologized politely stating that he was taking a sabbatical from brewing contracts and that next year he would begin again with considerations to time and ingredient availability. He's been staying at Harry's full-time since July 15 and was planning to leave only on August 15, as he still had to return to the school to get ready for the next year.

He did leave a few times, dressed for high society evening parties, but he always came back to Harry's home. His hosts weren't too pleased that the man refused to indulge them by brewing for them or by providing bedroom entertainment; however Severus never did any those things before. The hosting families always tried to make the man crack or cave in their requests.

Little did anyone know that that particular man was thawing under the obvious interest of one very friendly, loveable, hairy half-giant. Severus could see how the large man paid attention to his passing comments regarding potion ingredients and that man had always made sure that he had a way to get them.

Severus was often accompanied into the Forbidden Forest by Hagrid or one of Hagrid's centaur friends. It was clear that the large man did care about him and didn't want to see him hurt. He always told him and the boy to be careful when they visited the muggle world.

The Potions Master couldn't wait to see the flea-market that Harry had told him. Although…he had a niggling feeling that the boy was about to play a joke on him. '_Mischievous brat_,' he thought fondly. '_I just hope that he remembers my request to select a few bits of furniture for myself._'

-----

Harry didn't forget. He let his professor select a sturdy rolling desk with several matching chairs and bookshelves. Surprisingly the man wanted them to be set up in his personal study in Harry's house. The boy told the man that it was time for him to move into another set of rooms, closer to the '_family_' section of the house.

"You're no longer a guest, but a close friend and mentor," Harry told him. He was walking down a corridor and showed him the new rooms that now to belonged to his professor. "These are your rooms now, permanently. Do with them what you will. I have already moved the secret passage and its mechanism for you."

Severus was overwhelmed by the welcome that he sensed that he turned away a little choked up. He asked in a cracked voice, "Do you have any wizard paint bases here?"

Harry told him that he did. He also reminded the professor that the man had five cans of paint in a colour that he had selected last year. "I can paint my rooms in that colour?"

"Of course," Harry said. "These rooms are now yours." He did show the man another short-cut in the upper hallway that had been built to take them straight down to the kitchens. "This is just in case you didn't feel like walking down the corridors."

As soon as Severus's furniture was separated from the rest, the house-elves were able to return most of them back to their original refinished locations. However, a few were being taking to the houses that some of Harry's workers were living in at their requested needs.

The other furniture that would no longer accept magics were stripped of them. They were re-upholstered and repaired enough to be sold in the muggle world. Harry made sure that there were several matching pieces as well several pieces that were singles. He studied a bit about price guides and knew how much each piece was worth, but he also knew how some people were likely to want him to drop his prices.

He made little placards of a mid-range price with the little acronym of O.B.O. (or best offer) under their true worth. He also had a few "sold" placards just in case.

He helped the house-elves pack up the furniture and an open canvas tarp tent that the sides could be let down, depending on the weather. His lot was already selected and he was ready to go. He only hoped that his potions professor was ready for his role.

-----

The muggles were all amused by a tiny little boy who was pouting from the arms of his grandfather or his grand-uncle. The old man walked out of his trailer and set the boy down onto a tricycle. It took a moment, but the boy's sour disposition soon left his face when he began to peddle and actually move.

"Come along little Sal," the old man said. "We need to open up the tent and set up the furniture."

'_At least he's not calling me Sev,_' the boy thought. "Coming gramps," he shouted, peddling to catch up to the long-legged pace that the gray haired man had set.

There wasn't that much of a change in their appearances. Harry had taken an ageing potion that would last four hours on the Friday. He had two others that would last fourteen hours, which would cover the Saturday and Sunday from eight in the morning to ten at night. He had also taken one that changed his voice slightly and his eye colour. Of course he applied that covering patch of skin, hiding his curse scar.

Severus had taken a youthening potion, but not one that would affect his mind. It too had the same time limit, including the other two that Harry had prepared to last the same number of hours to his own age altering ones.

The professor didn't need one to change his eyes or voice. He didn't need to disguise himself too much. He was just irked that he had been tricked into being young again. Worse he was dressed in colourful overalls, with a t-shirt and small trainers on his feet.

His Dark Mark disappeared, but that was expected because he didn't have it when he was younger. The youthening potion actually made him physically younger without the scarring that he had acquired as an adult.

'_At least I know that the potions were well made,_' he thought. He peddled the little tricycle with next to no problems. He thought that it was kind of fun to move like that and he wasn't hindered by robes because he was wearing a muggle child's clothing.

Harry, meanwhile was manually unloading a few things using a magical lift that appeared to be muggle, which meant that he was fooling anyone that may have been watching him. However the other people on the lots were there early to set up their own stalls, so not many noticed the ease he had unloading his furniture.

He placed several large pieces at the back of the tent, like an armoire, buffet hutch, a couple of fancy bookshelves. He kept some tables and chairs in the tent as well, but he placed a couple of old hope chests, old children's rocking chairs, rocking bassinets and highchairs, just outside of the tent's entrance. His placards on the objects were actually his security measure and the furniture could not be taken from this area unless the new owners had picked them up.

"Sal," Harry said, calling the boy to him as he rolled down the sides of the tent closed, leaving only the front open to allow people to stop by and look. "Do you want to wander around the stalls to see what they have before we get started?"

Severus nodded and left the tricycle behind, eager to see what the muggles considered junk and vintage. Those were the two words that Harry used often in referring to what could be seen at a Flea Market. Then walked around, a few times the boy took the hand of his grandfather, pointed at something and asked, "What's that?"

Harry did his best to explain about the blenders, vacuums, music boxes and such. It wasn't difficult to see that the professor had taken to the roll of little boy and was seriously using it to his advantage. Action figures were talked of and there were times that he allowed himself to be carried in order to see the things that were placed higher up.

They made a circuit and returned to their own stall to see a few people milling about the objects. Harry went to them and soon was haggling with them about prices and delivery, if it was needed. Severus could see that the boy was fine haggling on his own and noticed that a few tables down there were some text books that looked interesting.

'_Maybe Harry will get them for me, if I ask him,_' he thought.

"Little Sal," Harry said, reminding his professor that he was supposed to be a boy of five and not an adult. "You should really tell me if you're going to wander about. OK?"

Severus nodded his head. He was an adult and knew that there were a lot of people in the world, some of which like to harm children.

"Sorry," he said contritely. He forgot what it was like to act like a child.

The boy lifted his arms, asking to be picked up in the manner of children. Harry smiled and then his grin became larger as his little professor asked for the text books by whispering in his ear. Harry nodded and said, "We'll see how well we do with our things."

The vendor at that table had noticed the dark haired boy's interest and said that she'd put them away if there was a guarantee that the man would be buying them. Harry thought about it for half a moment and then nodded his head. "How much?"

"Ten bob for three," she said.

Harry turned to face the boy and said, "Are there three that interest you at the moment?"

Severus nodded. Harry put him down and it seemed to the lady that the boy was shyly picking out books that were far above his level of understanding. However, the boy told the lady, "Pretty pictures."

She smiled and knew that even if the child didn't read the books that the pictures were indeed very pretty. One book was about the solar system and the discovered stars and planets, another was about exotic plants found in the jungles of Brazil and the last was all about scientific discoveries of the twentieth century.

Harry paid for them and let the boy carry one of the books. It was a cute image that Harry had been able to capture because he had one of his house-elves following them invisibly and snapping candid images.

The following day was much like the first night, but there were a lot more vendors and people. Severus stayed close to Harry the whole time and finally could understand the boy's statement about an adult making a child feel secure.

The day after there was very little left for them to sell and Harry made a decision to pack up the remainder, just after lunch. The rest of that day they went from stall to stall visiting and seeing the different things.

There was even a child's petting zoo that Severus wanted to go see. A lot of pictures were taking with a little boy petting bunnies and even riding a pony. He was able to taste cotton candy and they had bought quite a bit homemade candies that were obviously very different from what the boy had ever had.

His favourite was caramel popcorn balls, something else called peanut brittle and chocolate fudge, all homemade. Harry knew enough about the man to know that he had to withhold the sugared items until the man was back to normal. If Severus's child form was anything like his adult form, then he'd be bouncing off the walls and Harry would never be able to catch him in time to leave the grounds.

One last thing that caught the Potions Master's eyes was a complete set of hardcover encyclopaedias dated from the 1800's. He didn't ask for them, but he hoped that Harry would consider getting him a set later on. He had looked at them longingly and returned to them so often that he hoped that the boy would get the hint.

Harry didn't have to wait for later. He picked up the tired looking boy and motioned to his house-elf to take care of it, giving him enough money. His house-elf had a potion in hand that would temporarily get him to look human and he was able to get the full set of books.

Knowing that it was time to be heading home the house-elf left the Flea-Market and popped back to Tertia's Way in order to develop the film from the camera. Severus didn't know it, but this coming Christmas he was going to receive a gift from the fabled St. Nicholas.

-----

Harry had merged the seeds of his Blessing Fruit and planted number recommended by the Fairy Queen, plus one to all of his properties. He figured that it wouldn't hurt in the long run to have extra protection on his properties. Besides he felt that the available amount of land for Humans was shrinking and so he wanted to protect that bit that belonged to him.

He carefully stored the rest of the merged seeds into a preservation chest and locked it up in one of his Arca's storage rooms. He was seriously considering on giving one to Severus and Hagrid to swallow in order to for them to gain a familiar. He thought that they could use the extra protection and companionship.

He was so happy with his little Tertia that he wanted the two men to have that unconditional connection with another creature. It was a bond that could never be replaced by any human uncertainty or weakness.

He asked Hagrid one night if he wanted his own familiar and the large man replied honestly. "Arry," he said. "Righ' now, I be like ye were a couple years ago. Learnin' all I can. I'd like ta 'ave one, but I don' feel ready for such an honour at the momen'. Do ye unnerstan'?"

"Of course I understand," Harry said. "You just let me know when you are ready and we'll plan around it. She did say that it would take three to five days for you to birth it. I'm not rightly sure what she meant by that."

"Ye'll find out soon enough," the large man said.

"I'm gonna ask if Severus wants one," the boy said. "He's here for another seven days, so he has the time for it, if he wants to have one before returning to the school."

"Have what?" The potions professor asked, walking into the kitchens in order to begin preparing the evening meal. It was his turn to cook again.

"A magical familiar," the boy said.

Severus thought about it and wondered what kind of familiar he should consider getting. "A magical familiar would be useful, but I don't know how to get one," the man told them. "I've always wanted one, although not all wizards are suited to having their own animal companions. I'm sure that most animals are aware of that."

"This one's special in that you'd be the one to '_birth_' it, so to speak," Harry said. "At least that's the impression that I got from the Fairy Queen. She did say that if you choose to gain a familiar this way, there is absolutely no way that the Ministry of Magic can interfere or deny your right to have it. It takes three to five days for the process to be completed."

"I'll have to think about it," the man told him.

-----

Four days later, Severus and Hagrid were watching the boy read another letter from Ron inviting him to stay with his family for the summer. "He's persistent," he said to them, his eyes drifting to the large belly that his potions professor now sported. "I don't really want to go, but I have a feeling that he'd do something crazy like seek me out at my aunt's house."

"That sounds positively Gryffindorish of him," Severus said, shifting his position and rubbing his belly to calm the creature within. "I wouldn't be surprised if he and those twin brothers of his were to do something like that. Meanwhile, here's your school list for the next year. I asked Minerva for a copy of the second year lists in order to be able to deliver a copy to my godson. I made a copy for you that way you can begin your studies a little earlier."

The Potions Master had done this before making a final decision to let the boy give him the Fairy Gift of a personal familiar. He hoped that with a bit study from the books that contained information on the Blessings Ritual that he'd know what to expect. Unfortunately, there was very little information, but Harry had a couple of older Law books that contained the information regarding the Ministry of Magic's position on magical familiars. In one book there was a footnote about the familiars born of '_Blessed Seeds_', which the Ministry had doled out in earlier times.

These seeds were said to have belonged to powerful houses and strong family lines, which have all, but died out. A family without a Will had many properties confiscated and resold. These supposed '_Blessed Seeds_' tended to be found by children who swallowed these things because they'd been exploring the sense of taste. One time a whole box of thousands was found and the Ministry of Magic used to give them out as a bonus award with the Orders of Merlin (no matter the class).

The last one that no one knew about was when the current Headmaster of Hogwarts was awarded the Order of Merlin First Class. The Orders of Merlin presentation boxes had been filled randomly for the final one hundred seeds and over time only one remained. The box had been hidden for a while, until it was handed out after the Defeat of Grindlewald.

Albus Dumbledore was no fool. He knew exactly what the seed was and never told a soul about it. He took it during a summer holiday a few years prior to becoming the Deputy Headmaster following his position of Transfiguration Professor.

Severus had a feeling that his familiar would be unique. He knew that any familiars that _were_ considered unique came from the animals birthed with magic. These familiars merged with the magical world and blended in only after their bonded Wizard or Witch had passed on. Some familiars died with their bonded wizards, but others continued to live on contributing to the growing magical species in the Wizarding World.

The potions professor was looking forward to getting his magical familiar, but it was a strange sensation to feel a kind of empathy towards pregnant women. He was bloated, retained his water and waddled about Tertia's Way with odd craving now and then. He was scared about the birthing process, but there were several fairies that were around to assist him.

They twittered around him and settled, swinging from strands of his hair. Sometimes they landed on his extended belly and danced to the music that Harry played in kitchens. The creature within the professor loved the attention.

Hagrid couldn't keep his eyes off of the man because of the changes that occurred. The half-giant knew that Severus needed the company for this. He knew that when he chose to gain his own magical familiar, he would appreciate the same kind of attention.

Harry took the scroll that contained his second year list. "Thank you," he told the man, who sighed in content by the large hand that was rubbing his back to ease a knot that had formed there. "I had already gotten most my second year books because it was rather easy to figure out which ones followed the grade one levels. I only needed this to find out about the Defense books for this year."

He read through most of it and frowned when he got to the part about the books needed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "These aren't proper Defense books," he stated. "They are basically novels. You can't learn from any of these. Professor what is going on?"

"The position for Defense Against the Dark Arts is not a stable one at the moment," he explained to them. "The Headmaster had put in an advertisement in the papers for a teacher and only one applied. The git that wrote those trashy novels will be your teacher for this year."

"I heard that you wanted to Defense Against the Dark Arts position," Harry said. "Why wasn't it offered to you?"

The Potions Master snorted and said, "I _don't_ want the position. I don't know when or where that rumour began, but I assure you that I never wanted it. I love potions and I have never planned to give that up."

"Interesting," Harry said. In the end he shrugged and turned his thoughts back to Ron's persistent letters and how to answer them. Suddenly his professor gave a shout. The man was quickly picked up by Hagrid and taken to the half-giant's rooms because they were closer and bigger.

Three fairies flitted nearby and Harry was sitting on Hagrid's bed listening to the Potions Master complain about the pain and filth that his body was ejecting. Harry didn't want to know from where, but he was sure that...

"'Arry," Hagrid called out gaining the boy's attention. "Get us some flannels 'n a coupla basins of warmed water."

Harry rushed for the items and the shallow basins were already ready. He took them into the doorway of the bathroom. "Come now Arry," the large man said. "If 'n ye're plannin' ta give a seed ta yer frien' Neville, ye'll be needin' ta know what ye need ta do fer 'im."

Harry gulped and then stepped into the room. The basins were popped into the room by the house-elves, but they stayed away from this event. The boy walked slowly towards the tub and saw that Severus' distended belly was affecting his other organs, causing them to discharge, hence the unpleasantness.

Hagrid was rubbing the belly with a honey smelling oil in order to calm the '_kicking_' that Harry could see. Severus' bellybutton had expanded and discharged some fluids too. He could see the movement within that small oozing circle. He approached to have a closer look and knew that he would have to write this down in his own personal journal in order to record the event.

Harry wasn't shocked to see a naked man kneeling in the tub, due to his lessons in the primary care and first aid panels that he had on his Arca. His levels of learning had included emergency care for all sorts of basics situations and people. The people, many sizes, ages and sex; that were brought forth in those panels were similar to the animals from his animal care panel, in that they only manifested for the duration of his lessons.

So he was quite used to seeing naked figures and was not embarrassed to see his professor in such a state of undress. He wasn't even surprised that Hagrid was just as easy with this situation. But they were all shocked to see a smoky darkness emerge and flow like a fog, excepting that this was black fog.

The fairies were whispering into everyone's ear explaining that the fog was natural only to the dark one's familiar and that every familiar born in this fashion had its own coloured aura. They watched as a fibrous membrane began to emerge from the opening in Severus' belly.

The swirling colours of the membrane matched the four colours of fruits that Harry had gathered. Inch by inch the sac holding the creature oozed out from the belly-button opening. They could see a slight movement as the creature was pushed from the man into the sac.

Hagrid was supporting Severus by holding him around the chest, leaning him forward and rubbing the sides of the distended belly. Harry wanted to call forth a bit of healing magic, but it wasn't the time for that. He helped to rub the belly and that motion helped to slowly push the membrane further out. It continued to ooze and fill until its size matched the same size of weight and roundness that Severus had gained over four days time.

It was hanging down like a large bulb of colours and a dark fog like aura. The fairies buzzed around the dangling _thing_... Their magic sparkled and soon the opening in the man's belly was closing with their aide.

The familiar was moving about in the slimy sac and Severus was encouraging it to reveal itself. "Come on baby," he whispered. His magics were protecting it and his voice was calling to it. "Please my little one. You can do it," he coaxed.

Hagrid was still rubbing the man's stomach, but was moving him into a kneeling position. The Potions Master was able to gather the pouch in his arms and just continue crooning at the creature within. He was petting it and the magics created a hardening shell and that crystallized and broke away from the body that had contained it for the last four days.

The creature within the chrysalis was moving about and after half a moment, the shell cracked and a gray beak pierced through. It didn't take long and a dark head attached longish neck was revealed. It was a bird of some kind.

The little thing shook its head and with the aid of his bonded wizard it was soon free from the confines of his or her shell. Severus took the flannels from the boy and began the process of bonding with the little creature. He was speaking to it and crooning at it, encouraging it to move.

Meanwhile Hagrid was cleaning up the man and helping him into a robe in order to be able to move into them into kitchens. There were multiple food stuffs that they could access and figure out what it needed to live.

The little thing chirruped and Severus had a sense of what it might. Wrapped in a warm robe and seated the kitchen's nook corner, his familiar was also wrapped in a flannel to keep it warm. Severus called forth a selection of fruits and nuts. He took a mouthful and masticated it in order to feed the mush to his familiar.

There was a sense in his mind that sort of told him about the how of feeding his magical familiar. Of course the fairies were twittering around and giving their advice, helping him out. Harry watched as the two bonded and knew that Neville's and Hagrid's would be very different creatures, but the birthing process would be the same.

Hagrid knew about a lot of creatures in the world and he suspected that he might know about Severus' familiar. He knew the name of a book that could help the man out. He whispered in Harry's ear and the boy left them to go get the book.

Bing and Bong were preparing the meal for today because Harry had requested a barbequed meal. They chose not to spice the steaks, but they made veggies with just a pinch of spices in aluminum bundles, made the way that Harry had taught them to.

Harry came back with a large book his hands, moving around the bustle of his house-elves and handed the book to the half-giant. His eyes turned towards his Potions Professor and watched the man interact with his familiar.

Tertia slithered into the kitchens and wound her way up Harry's leg in order to curl around his neck. She too watched with all of her eyes from the comfort of her bonded wizard's neck. Harry was petting her, while Hagrid looked through the book that Harry had brought to him.

It looked like the larger man knew what he was looking for. Luckily there was a magical index that he could state the animal's characteristics and a list of possibilities would crop up. "Grey sharp beak and claws, black fuzzy down, long swan-like neck," he said to the book. "Black, fog-like aura."

Several species appeared, but only one had the black fog-like aura. It was a Shadow Phoenix. A creature that was capable of moving from shadow to shadow, living in them and hiding in them. It was truly a perfect magical familiar for a spy. Its life cycled like the Fire Phoenix, bursting into flame and being reborn in the ashes.

Severus was very happy with his familiar. It wouldn't have mattered to him if his magical familiar had turned out to be nothing more than a sparrow or a bat, he would still have loved it. That is the key to the swallowing of the '_Blessed Seeds_' and that was what he mentioned to the others.

While they were watching the slumbering baby Shadow Phoenix, they helped Harry make plans to meet the Weasleys in Diagon Alley in order to pick up his remaining school supplies. This, unfortunately, did include that horrid list of useless books that Harry knew he wasn't going to be reading anytime soon.

* * *

**TBC...**

(i) 20 years ago (1972), his parents and Snape were 12 years.

50 years ago (1952), Tom Riddle is 16 years old.

75 years ago (1917), Dumbledore 36 years old. (not at Hogwarts, because according to the HP Lexicon he became the transfiguration professor in 1938)


	14. Chapter 13

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

**Year 2 – Part four of... ? **

Harry met the Weasleys after he stopped by Gringotts to introduce Neville to Risuslux and wasn't that a fun time. The goblin was wondering why he needed such an introduction, plus he was chastising Harry at the same time for not coming to him sooner with regards to getting his proper camouflage bracers.

He now had the bracers with the larger carrying capacity and Neville had the goblin metals added to his hands like he needed in order to stabilize his magic. The boy now had the control over the visibility of the strange markings. He was warned that as he got older and closer to true magical puberty, which occurred around the ages of fifteen to twenty in witches and wizards, they would slowly come into view.

Neville had Harry's unconditional help to come up with a cover up story. "Rebellion," Harry told him. "It's quite natural to go through it as a teenager." He backed it up by taking him into the Muggle World for a short bit of time to point out the local teens in that world. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of those that are muggle-born or muggle-raised were to come back to school in fourth, fifth or sixth year with a piercing or two, maybe even tattoos."

Neville had laughed at that, but it was true enough in the Wizarding World too. Although, tattoos and piercings had more meaning, as some were magical and some were part of rituals to gain more power or abilities. They both agreed that no one would know about the Ritual that caused Neville to acquire his own special tattoos. No one needed to know about it.

They also agreed to become '_study buddies_', that way they could use their Arca time and regular time together. One would go into their Arca and study something while the other kept watch. Neville told Harry that he was willing to hide him on the train, but Harry told him that he had no choice, but to be with Ron this time, because of the letters that he had been receiving.

Neville agreed, but also cautioned him. "I don't know why they want you to be their best friends, so just be careful."

"I will," Harry said, leaving the boy behind with his grandmother to finish up their own errands for school.

Harry returned to Madam Malkins for new robes that fit because that summer he had gained a couple of inches. He was careful with all of his training even during the times that he was only studying he was always doing something else, even if it was only flexing his fingers.

He met up with the Weasleys at Flourish and Blotts to pick up their school books. He didn't need anything, but unfortunately that was not how things happened in there. Mrs. Weasley was fussing over him while Ron looked on slightly jealous, but Harry didn't know what the reason for that could be. He just shrugged and walked over to look at the books.

"It's awfully crowded today, don't you think?" Harry said to Hermione.

"That's because Gilderoy Lockhart is here to sign some of his books," she told him with a sigh. Harry looked around and noticed that there were an awful lot of girls and women who had the same dopy expression in their eyes.

He shook his head and tried to walk away from the table that he now noticed near the back with stacks of books and several bottles of ink. He was not that lucky. The author had walked in and was poncing about smiling at the ladies and making them feel all giddy and swoony.

'_It's enough to make anyone sick,_' Harry thought. '_What a glory seeker! Gag me now._'

He really should have been paying attention because he was suddenly grabbed by the arm. He was dragged to the front of the line and the git was blowing smoke at everyone, telling them that he had already planned to gift a fully copy of his entire works to Harry Potter, The Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry was pissed off that he had been manhandled and worse there was a reporter there taking photographs of him without prior authorization. He pulled out his wand and said loudly, "That's enough," he pointed his wand to the photographer. "You will destroy those immediately or face charges."

Everyone was watching him stunned that he would do such a thing. "Quote to me the laws of magical duplication in relation to a child under the age of sixteen without their parents, guardians or magical guardians present," he demanded of the photographer.

The man was flabbergasted. He was a photographer for the Daily Prophet, but as far as he knew everyone wanted their pictures in the paper. He never had to quote that law before, but he did have it memorized for such occasions. He also never had to face the possibility of charges.

"Parental or guardian consent is required; No child under the age of sixteen may be photographed without the presence of their parents, guardians or magical guardians present," the man said. He blanched when he realized what he had just said. He was staring at the golden end of Harry's wand, which was sparking dangerously.

"Well," Harry said. "Do you see my parents anywhere in this store?"

"No, Mr. Potter," the man stuttered.

"What about my guardians or magical guardian?" Harry asked, but then prompted for an answer when the man was standing there in shock. "Well?"

"No, Mr. Potter," the man said again.

"Then you know what you have to do," the boy told him. The man nodded, opened the back of his camera and pulled out all of the film that he had used that day. He was going to have to report this to his editor in order to explain why he needed to re-take the crime pictures that he had taken before.

"The one hidden in your palm too," Harry told him. The man blinked and destroyed the fragile little camera by snapping it in half. "If pictures of me end up in that paper of yours, I'll know who to charge."

"Right you are Mr. Potter," the man said. "I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience. I'll just take my leave now."

Harry turned his wand onto the fluttering ponce that had manhandled him into such a position. "You sir are dangerously close to being charged with the physical abuse of a minor," Harry said.

"My dear young Harry…" Gilderoy began.

"Do you know me _sir_?" Harry questioned. "Are we connected in any way in this World?"

"We're both famous," the pompous man said.

"That means _nothing_ to me," Harry said. "I think that I will bring you up on charges…"

"No wait," Gilderoy said, whispering quickly. "Surely there's another way compensate. I was just happy to see another celebrity that my emotions quite got away from me. Surely you can understand that."

"Physical abuse can lead to psychological trauma," Harry said in a whispering tone, but he was thoughtful and looked like he was thinking hard about how to let the man off the hook. "It would ease my mind some, if you could pay for this offense of _yours_ by giving away a full set of your books to each of the Weasley children attending Hogwarts this year."

Gilderoy Lockhart thought that there would only be one or two children so he readily agreed to it. "Of course young man," he said and then he loudly stated. "A full and entirely brand new set of my autographed works for the Weasley children attending Hogwarts this year."

"You are most generous," Harry said out loud playing on the man's need to be praised. He whispered back, "I think that I will allow myself to be persuaded to drop my complaint, once you've completed your task." He hid his smirk and gave the man a somewhat shy pleased smile that this was going to be done for that family.

The ladies that were watching were jealous that the boy had gotten full sets of signed works from the man for the Weasley children. However they were all taken in by his honest complaint and they all exclaimed how cute he was when he asked for the books shyly.

Of course it was an act because Harry called for the Weasleys to come to the head of the line in order to get their books. He couldn't wait to be alone in order to have a good laugh at what he had done to the man. Gilderoy had been so shocked that he had to sign five full sets of his works and pay for them too.

Walking away from the throng of avid Lockhart fans, Harry allowed himself a chance to grin mischievously while facing a corner of stuffy and dusty books. He looked over at Gilderoy Lockhart and the man knew that the Boy-Who-Lived was watching to see if he was going to keep his word. He had no choice now because he declared it in front of a full audience.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy had been watching that commotion and decided to put his pointy little nose in where it didn't belong. "Bet you liked that didn't you Potter?" He asked sneering at the dark haired boy.

"Of course," Harry said in a side whisper, his voice only carrying to the little blond youth. "Wouldn't you, knowing you were able to make someone do something they didn't want to do in the first place? Taking away some of their thunder by denying evidence of status, publicity, peer acknowledgement _and_ making them pay."

Draco blinked, not sure how to answer to such an obviously Slytherin sentiment. It wasn't something that he had expected from the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry saw the confusion in the Slytherin's face and smirked slightly, but then asked sincerely, "How was your summer?"

Again he was throwing another loop at the blond boy causing him to answer without thought. "It was long and boring," Draco complained. "I was hoping that we'd travel this year, but my parents were stuffy about it. We only visited family, which was boring."

Unfortunately, Ron chose that time to show up and begin an altercation that made Harry sigh in frustration because he couldn't say anything else to Draco. The Slytherin noticed the sigh and wondered if Potter had wanted to say something else to him.

'_Couldn't he keep his red-headed anger in check for a few more moments_?' He thought, sighing and rolling his eyes upward as though he was praying for patience.

He shook his head and said, "Ron, I don't think that this is the right place. You know if you damage any of the books here _you'll_ have to pay for them."

That shook the red-headed boy out of his fussing. So, instead of fighting he asked, "What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

Draco just huffed and said, "Getting my books here for next year, what else? Where _did_ you expect me to go?"

"I rather you went to Hell then come bother normal folks here," Ron muttered.

Hermione elbowed him, wanting to keep the small peace, but that didn't work because Draco's father appeared. He had walked up to his boy and basically put him in his place while trying to seem like a good father at the same time.

Harry was observing all of them and he noticed the faint magical _scent_, for lack of a better word, that clung to the man. He wasn't stupid because this was the same magical _scent_ that Professor Snape had, but he knew that his professor was the better man of the two.

Lucius Malfoy had just been out to take some things to Borgin and Burks without his son knowing about them. It seemed like he cared about his boy, but he was more pushy about his heir this and his heir that. He held out his hand in order to be introduced to Harry, but Harry only crossed his arms and said with a sniff in the air, "Tainted just like the last follower that _disappeared_, why should I even speak to you?"

"How dare you?" Lucius said. "He was a great man and deserves proper recognition."

"Voldemort was a murderer," Harry said calmly and without any physical fear of saying the man's name. "He was nothing, but a power hungry tyrant who didn't care about anything, except gaining more power."

"Very brave to speak his name," the blond man said.

Hermione spoke up then, saying, "_**Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself**_."

"Ah," Lucius said, looking at the lot of people that had gathered around the Boy-Who-Lived. "You must be Miss Granger, constantly spouting her knowledge over the other students just for the sake of recognition." He paused for effect and to casually look around. "Those, over there, I suppose are your parents. Muggles aren't they?"

His expression was very clear to everyone nearby. His face had soured and it looked like he had stepped in something unpleasant. After a moment, he continued, "Let's see now, tatty clothes, an overabundance of red hair, you must be part of Weasley's brood."

"At least they know how to make an honest living," Harry said. "It's not like they had to have everything given to them for nothing."

Draco flushed at that, but his father was livid. "Boy, you know nothing about the difficulties of inheriting such prestige. You wouldn't even know where to begin and just to let you know that there are heavy responsibilities taken on a Family Mantle."

Harry just shrugged, "I'm going to make my fortune the good old fashioned way. I'll earn it with hard work and perseverance."

It was at this point in time that Mr. Weasley showed up carrying Ron's and Ginny's set of Lockhart's books. "Here you two," he said, putting Ginny's in her cauldron. "They are yours and so you must carry them."

He had noticed that Mr. Malfoy was speaking with his children and so he felt that he had to at least go over there and defend them. Well, at least to make sure that they are all right.

"Weasley," Mr. Malfoy sneered in acknowledgement. He then began to go on about Mr. Weasley's job at the Ministry of Magic and on and on about what disgraces the good name of wizard. He even pulled out one of Ginny's second hand books to poke fun at it.

Mr. Weasley, too, was making digs about how he had a very different opinion of what disgraces the good name of wizard. However, this was when one of Mr. Malfoy's jibes hit too close and since Mr. Weasley was of the red-haired nature too, he exploded and belted one out right into Mr. Malfoy's nose. Mr. Malfoy temporarily forgot that he too was a wizard and began to swing and punch with all of his might.

They were going at it and Hermione was looking down her nose at the fact that Ron was now at it with Draco Malfoy, while Harry was kind of trying to separate the two.

"You are acting just like children," she said to no one, sniffing and showing her displeasure.

It was the wives of course that broke it up. Mr. Malfoy left saying, "See you at work, Weasley."

Draco left the bookstore, following his father and mimicked, "See you at school." He did have to name names because he was talking to the lot of them.

Harry shook his head and hoped that future altercations will only be verbal, but he also knew that if he continued to hang around Ron that that wouldn't be the case. '_I wish I didn't have to play up to this,_' he thought. '_I don't even want to go to their place, but I still have to fool them for at least another year. I wish Neville or Hagrid was here. They are calm, compared to Ron._'

Mr. Weasley herded his children to the other stores in order to get their school things. He splurged a bit and purchased of couple of the better second hand things, as Harry had saved him quite a bit of money on Lockhart's books.

Once their errands were done, they all headed back to the Burrow, where Harry had a good look around. He loved this house because there was a lot of love and care that went into maintaining it. He could feel it in waves of magical pulses and he smiled at Ron's comment of '_**It's not much, but its home**_'.

Harry told them all that he loved it. He walked around poking his nose into all of the main rooms, looking at the magic that was on display. There was a smell that lingered in the air that said that this house was in full use and that it lived in magic.

-----

The twins were happy that Harry was there because they could show off many of the magical things that were around. Ron showed off his room and Hermione was anxious to know if Harry had finished his summer homework.

Ron wasn't happy about that. "Give it a rest Hermione," he said. "He only just got here and there's more to life than just school work you know."

"I know that, _Ron_," she said. "You won't get far if you don't increase your knowledge or start good study habits."

"Easy you two," Harry said, trying to stop the argument. "Hermione, I've already finished my work."

"Do you need me to look it over?" The know-it-all asked believing that he'd need her help.

"No thanks," Harry said. "I'd rather pass or fail on my own merit then take the chance that someone might believe I've copied my work from someone else."

He had noticed that her efforts in trying to assist never quite added up to better grades for Ron and he wondered if her help or perhaps _job _ was to pass on just enough miss-information to cause the red-head to do slightly less better. Perhaps it was just enough to cause future failure with repeated mistakes in the same area, but Harry knew that he would never need her assistance for his work.

Meanwhile in another part of the Wizarding World, Draco was brooding about the way that Potter had acted in the book store. '_It's not like he was actively trying to cause a fight,_' he thought to himself. '_It was only when Weasley showed up that he began to actively protest, but I know that he didn't like the way my father acted._'

In another part of that same Manor House, Mr. Malfoy was plotting for a way to elevate his son in the Slytherin House and get him on the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Severus' presence was requested and when he heard about the scheme he was disheartened to find that he had to follow through with such a dangerous venture for his godson.

He cared about the brat, but it was obvious that Draco may or may not be an asset for the team, however there was nothing that the Potions Master could say against it. New brooms were a great incentive for the team to accept the boy and Draco was going to have to learn some hard lessons about earning things rather than paying for them.

"There's nothing in the school charters that prevents the Quidditch teams from receiving gifts or directing their use," Severus told the man in response to his questions. "Do you honestly think that this is a good idea?"

"Of course it's a good idea," Lucius said. "It will teach my son about the power our family has in the world."

Severus sighed to himself and nodded in agreement. He still had his part to play in this and he must maintain his position as a known spy to both sides of this war. Everything else before this was only minor battles and skirmishes. War took longer to conclude, especially when the outcome of the last skirmish at the Potter's home was still so inconclusive.

-----

**September 1st (Trying to get to school)**

There was such a rush to get everyone out of the Burrow and onto the train that all of them almost missed the train. However it was only Harry and Ron that couldn't get through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. They crashed horribly, but only Ron had a cart. Harry's things were his pocket because he refused to be burdened down with too many things.

-----

Shrinking trunks were common, but too expensive for a poor family like the Weasleys. Harry never flaunted his money or the fact that his trunk shank on command. He just figured that he'd invest in practical things from the get go and that's what he told his friends.

"The stuff is there and since I need something, I just thought that I'd get something that's easier to hide from the muggles," he said to them when they asked about it. "You've got to admit that they can't detect this when it's in my pocket."

Hermione was envious that she never thought to look for something like that and Ron was jealous because he had to make due with a hand-me-down trunk from one of his older brothers. The twins got their trunks new, but that was because Charlie and Percy were still in school when they had started.

Percy took Bill's old trunk when Bill was finished school because he had to get his from a family member that died. That trunk was a mess to begin with and Percy hated it. Ron's trunk was Charlie's old school trunk.

Harry didn't understand where Ron's snobbishness came from regarding his family lower income status, but there was something about it that he didn't like. He just didn't want to say anything about it for now, but he knew that it could be one of the red-head's fuses that he would have to be careful with. That meant not always treating his friend with food on the train and no expensive gifts so that the boy doesn't feel bad about the gifts that he gives in return.

-----

Still at this point in time the boys were still trying to make it to school and Ron came up with the idea to use his parents' car to get to school. Harry told him that they should just go to the nearest Floo access and go to Hogsmeade to meet up with the train later.

Ron was very stubborn and block-headed about it, but Harry put his foot down. "I'm not going to do that," he said. "Your parents will be looking for their car and if you take it then you're going to leave them stranded."

"They can apparate, Harry," Ron told him. "Well do what you want, I'm taking the car. I'll see you at the school." He took off and left Harry to find his own way.

'_What an idiot,_' Harry thought. '_I'll just go home by Floo and connect to Hogsmeade later. I could rest safely there, plus I need to look up a few things in order to prevent photographers from getting clear pictures of me. Well there must be something to at least stop them from taken any that I don't want taken, that is._'

He wasn't impressed with Ron's need to have an adventure and he was sure that's what the other boy was thinking by taking his father's car. '_He was trying to rope me into it because he only wants the Boy-Who-Lived to cover his back when he gets into trouble,_' he thought. '_Well, no thank you._'

-----

Harry had just finished placing spells into the stone. It was his first piece of magical jewellery made for a specific purpose. He checked the stone and made sure that it was secured to the metals that he was using. It looked like the common pieces that he made for the streets, but he had to be sure that the spells wouldn't come undone from anything that he needed to do in school.

'_I'll ask Professor Flitwick to double check the charms and spells,_' he thought, while putting on the necklace. '_He'll be able to tell how long this will last or at least tell me how stable it will be for when I'm doing my other school work._'

"Guys, I'm off to Hogsmeade now," he said to his house-elves. They were worried when he came back, especially since this is the first day of his second year. "I'm going to meet up with Hagrid. Come and see me at school if there is anything that needs my immediate attention or if any correspondence comes in from the Bank."

The elves nodded up and down, causing Harry to smile at them. "See you at Christmas," he said to them. They all grinned and couldn't wait to plan the Yule holidays.

-----

Harry was walking towards Hagrid's Hut, when one of the school's carriages pulled up near him. He was later then he thought because he visited a couple of the shops in Hogsmeade for the fun of it. He picked a few knick-knacks and some presents for future Holidays and birthdays ahead of time. They were just little things for his workers and elves.

" 'Arry," Hagrid's voice boomed down at him in surprise. "Wha' are ye doin' 'ere? Din't ye take the train?"

"Missed it," Harry told his magical guardian, while he climbed in to sit next to him and explained what happened. "Ron and I missed it because the barrier was closed. Ron's coming and using his parents' car. I went home and Flooed to Hogsmeade in time to catch up to the train. I was going to visit you earlier, but I stopped at a couple of the shops in Hogsmeade for Christmas things."

"Ye did all righ' 'Arry," Hagrid said. "Ye could've sent an owl when ye got to Hogsmeade, but it's all righ' for now. Ye still might be gettin' a detention, but we'll see abou' tha'."

"Thanks Hagrid," he said. "I didn't think I'd get into too much trouble for coming to school this way. I don't even want to think about Ron and what trouble he's going to get into for using a muggle flying car. I hope it has something to turn it invisible."

Hagrid nodded and put his arm around Harry for the ride to the station. They talked for a while, waiting for the train to show up. Once it was in sight, the large man told him to pick a carriage and wait for it to fill up. "They'll go to the school on their own," he explained. "They're bein' pulled by Thestrals. Ye'll not be able ta see 'em until ye witness someone's death. Kinda a dark thought, but tha's how it'll 'appen."

"It's okay Hagrid," Harry said, stepping down from the seat. "I'm not in any rush to see someone die anytime soon." He walked over to a carriage and waited for other students to fill it up in order to be able to get to the school.

'_Although, I already did because I saw Quirrell die_,' he thought, eyeing the skeletal-like creature harnessed to the carriage. '_I'm going to have to look them up because right now their giving the willies._'

Neville found him quickly and the two of them plus the Weasley twins discussed why Harry and Ron were not on the train. They also discussed the possible outcomes of the red-headed boy's arrival. The twins were for detention and suspension, but Harry and Neville thought that Ron might only get detention.

However they all agreed that there was no way that Ron was going to able to hide from the Muggles or even remember the '_invisibility shield_' in time to prevent from being seen. He might have to be suspended because he was too young to be jailed for such an offense.

They also knew that this was an attention thing and Harry asked them what they thought would have happened if he had gone along with Ron. "You'd both be seen as Heroes for a well done prank," Fred told him.

"You can probably pull off a stunt like that on your own," George said. "Well maybe you'd be able to get away with it, but there's no way that any else could, unless they were with you."

Harry frowned, but felt the truth of that statement. He sighed and said, "Yeah. I had a feeling about that."

"Will you be all right?" Neville asked.

"Me," the boy-who-lived replied. "Sure, but can you imagine the fall-out from not going along with Ron. He'll be mad at me." His eyes were twinkling from the mischief of it and everyone in the carriage had a feeling that Harry wasn't all that concerned about Ron's feelings at the moment.

"At least you didn't have to stay on the train with Hermione," Neville said. "She's was with Dean, Seamus and me."

"Talked your ears off about homework, school work and whatnot," Harry said with a grin.

Neville sent a grin right back at a Harry. "She did…" He paused dramatically and then continued in a mischievously gleeful tone, "That is until a couple Seamus' Gobstones squirted her with purple spit."

The twins loved this and giggled maniacally

"Purple…" one said.

"Spit…" the other said with wicked glee.

They looked at one another and snickered. "What a great idea, how did he do that, do you know?" They asked Neville.

Neville smirked a bit and said, "It was nothing that _he_ did to the Gobstones."

He didn't get into more details because he didn't want to tell them that he was the one that cursed the stones after Hermione's fifth exclamation of how important school work was and how childish the boys were being by not paying attention to her words of wisdom. He did send a covert wink to Harry, letting him know that he was going to get the full story later, as soon as they were safe in their dorm room for the night.

The students made their way to the Great Hall to have their "Welcome Back" feast. The new first years were sorted and soon everything was fine, until some of the Professors left in a flutter to deal with Ron's unfortunate and late arrival.

-----

Later that evening, in the Gryffindor common room, no one clapped for Ron. No one approved of his unthinking method to come to the school and no one congratulated him for the prank. Harry hadn't come with him for that little adventure.

Ron knew that if Harry had been with him, he would have been welcomed and praised for it. As it is, he was lucky to have just received detention, but his parents were going to hear about this because Snape had a paper and pointed that he had__'_**been seen by muggles**_.'

The youngest red-headed Weasley male was pissed off that Harry hadn't wanted to come along. He was angry with Harry. He was scared and pissed off with Snape and with basically everyone. He lost fifty points from Gryffindor, but he never once blamed his own foolishness on his poor choice.

Luckily the students didn't notice the loss of points this first night. '_At least I'll be able to sleep,_' he thought. '_They'd have given me nightmares just for spite._'

-----

The following morning, actually that entire week wasn't any better for Ron because the rest of the Gryffindors did torment him for a long while for his stupid stunt. The Gryffindor house started the year off with minus fifty points. It was going to take them quite some time to make up the difference and they knew just who was responsible. They also knew how to retaliate.

Poor pink curly haired and floppy white rabbit-eared Ron. '_At least it wasn't a Medusa curse,_' he thought shaking his head, causing the ears to flap. '_I hate snakes almost as much as I hate spiders._'

-----

**Later in September**

For some reason this school year felt darker to Harry, but he couldn't figure out where that sensation came from or why. Although part of it was due to Ron's attitude for the longest time at the beginning of the year. At least Harry had Neville to watch his back and they had their Arcas, plus the normal schoolwork to occupy them. Harry also had Quidditch practices to fill in his time.

He hated the Defense Against the Dark Arts class even more now. This was mostly due to the fact that Lockhart was in there bragging about his supposed deeds. The boys in the class were confused because all of the girls were moony eyed over the fop. Still Gryffindor was regaining their lost points due to Hermione's studiousness or perhaps it was more about her school-girl crush on the flamboyant teacher.

Harry's new schedule was getting quite hectic, but Neville and he had planned the time for their Arcas to link with their matched '_free double period_' in the morning on Tuesdays. It was still difficult to shake off Hermione, but the boys were able to gain the help from Hagrid. They went to visit the half-giant for those two and a half hours after which they had to go to the greenhouses, which was excellent planning for them.

They spent an hour each in their Arca, separately and an hour with Hagrid to help him recall his first year spells and some the of the second year ones that he was struggling with. Other times Hagrid helped them to learn about managing a farm situation or how to use things from the land. They were able to get some of their potions ingredients a lot fresher because of the large man's assistance.

Harry was working intensely on the fourth year potions curriculum. He was almost half-way through it because he was given additional studies during the past summer. Now he was currently in the Forbidden Forest. Most of the time he was making notes of the plants and animals that lived there. He sometimes met up with Firenze because the centaur was curious about the boy.

"Mr. Potter," he trotted up. "You're here again I see."

"Firenze," Harry said, looking up from the notes he had just finished. "How are you today?"

"I am well," the centaur replied. "What are you studying now?"

"Lichens," Harry said, pointing to the fungus growing at the base of the rotting log. "I'm to compare the differences of the ones I've found, provide the location of them and figure out the potions that commonly use them."

"That doesn't seem like work for a second year potions student," Firenze observed.

Harry smiled at the creature and said, "It isn't, but I do study what I'm told to study. Professor Snape _is_ a demanding man."

Firenze snorted and stamped his front hoof on the ground, crossing his arms. "You shouldn't be…"

"Be easy friend," Harry said with a soothing voice that calmed the horse sense inside the dual creature. He grinned mischievously. "Easy now, I know exactly what _level_ of potions _I'm_ studying."

The centaur blinked and then noticed that the boy didn't seem at all put out about studying a higher level for this particular course. "You are ahead of your peers," Firenze observed, questioningly. "I see. That is why Hagrid and the Potions Master requested that you be watched when you are here."

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "I'm younger than the other students studying the same work. I don't really know that many spells of defence for use against many of the creatures living here. Also, I must go in the forest further than the others because I'm looking for different things. I think the Professor has me working on a different curriculum from the others, that way no one knows what I'm doing."

"That is good for you," Firenze said. "I will accompany you when you come. We can discuss other things while you make your observations. I can even show you a few places where some of your lichens may grow."

"Thank you," Harry said. "The Professor never said that I couldn't receive help in locating them, but I do have to map their location too. Personally, I think that he's having me hunt down ingredients for him in advance of his future projects."

"That could very well be the truth," Firenze said. "Now let us discuss the stars. They are very strange of late."

Harry nodded and continued to do his study while engaging in a deep conversation about the portents that the stars were showing. He had his astronomy studies to do too and he did his own work in all his classes. This was one class that he was glad to have taken because he could sort of keep up with the centaur now.

-----

Near the end of the month Hermione and Ron, long after the red-head lost the bunny ears and after he had sort of forgiven Harry for not flying to school with him, were walking with Harry towards the Quidditch Pitch. He had just changed into his training gear and he was expected on the Pitch for the first practice of the year.

They arrived in time to see a confrontation between two Quidditch captains, Oliver Woods and Marcus Flint. The Slytherins were on the Pitch with a note from their Head of House granting them permission to use the Pitch in order to train their new Seeker.

"Really," Woods said. "Who would that be?" The Slytherins parted and from their centre a small blond boy emerged.

"Malfoy," Ron exclaimed loudly.

"Looks like you guys are going to have to get serious because we have these too," Marcus said. He was bragging about the brooms that the team was holding. "We've all got a Nimbus 2002 and need to train with them."

Another Slytherin member said, "They say that the speed of this version exceeds the regular Nimbus 2000 by 15 percent."

Hermione standing there and watching the boys argue and then had to put her two Knuts into this conversation. "Obviously you'll need the practice, if you can't handle such a small change in speed," she said crossing her arms to seem superior. "Still, at least nobody on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way onto the team. They earned it by having talent."

"Shut up," Malfoy said. He wasn't buying his way onto the team. This was a show of power from his father to prove that the Malfoy family has influence, even in the school.

'_That's all that was. I wasn't buying a place on this team. Of course that's not how some others would see it,_' he thought. He looked into the amused green eyes of the Boy-Who-Lived. '_I wonder how __**he**__ sees this_.'

"Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about," Malfoy said. "What do you know? You're nothing... nothing, but a filthy little Mudblood." Several things happened after that.

Ron pulled out his broken wand and shouted, "Eat slugs."

His wand had been broken during his flight to school and his spells tended to backfire. He used _spello-tape_ to keep the broken ends together. Spell-backfire is just what happened now because instead of Draco Malfoy eating slugs Ron ended up vomiting them.

Harry was angry too and lost a bit of control over his _other_ magics. A huge crack of thunder exploded overhead, startling them all. The earth under Malfoy's feet became unstable and pushed up, causing the boy to fall down on his ass.

Hermione gasped and became upset with large gobs of tears in her eyes because of the venom and harsh words spoken.

Harry quickly grabbed her armed to get her to help Ron up and he nudged them towards Hagrid's Hut. They managed to haul Ron between the two of them while he continued to heave the huge slimy ugly things.

They sat down and were there waiting to see if Hagrid could help them out with Ron's problem, but the large man could only provide a bucket. "Better out than in," he said. "Just take it easy. What were ye doin' castin' with an obviously broken wand?"

"I had to," Ron said gulping and shaking from the last wave of slugs. "Malfoy insulted Hermione. My parents said that if anything was broken from my trip to school that I had to live with it until Yule came this year."

"He insulted Hermione?" Hagrid asked. "Wha' did he say?"

"He called her a...," Harry paused, confessed. "Well I don't really know what he meant when he said it."

"He called me a mudblood," she said.

Hagrid gasped and said, "He did not."

"It means impure or dirty blood," she said turning to Harry.

"Tha's jus' wrong," Hagrid said trying to comfort the girl. "There's no one aroun' nowadays tha' don' 'ave somethin' else mixed in their family lines. Besides," he said taking her hand and petting it to soothe her down a bit, just like he did with animals. "There's not a spell yet that you 'aven't been able to conquer. So don' you think on it 'ermione. Don' ye think on it a bit."

"Thank you Hagrid," she sniffed.

They spent the rest of the afternoon there drinking tea until Ron had finished throwing up the slugs.

-----

There was one new thing for this school year that was beginning to really bug Harry. It's seems that one of the first years in Gryffindor was a bit of an avid fan. He had told the boy not to take pictures of him, but there was nothing to legally protect him here because the boy was not employed by a newspaper. The other problem was that the law of duplicating images didn't include candid shots or shots taken by students, unless he did something to himself to prevent them from being or turning out.

Harry hadn't been able to get his necklace tested by Professor Flitwick, but so far the Creevy boy didn't seem to be able to take proper pictures. Unfortunately because they were not turning out, it made the first year more persistent about taking pictures of Harry Potter, The Boy-Who-Lived.

"Harry," Colin Creevy breathlessly, trying to call out and run at the same time, in order to catch up to his hero. "Harry, Harry..."

Harry sighed and then turned around. "What is it Colin?"

"These pictures," he said huffing and puffing. "They're not good. Why can't I take good pictures of you? I can with nearly everything and everyone else, but look these one are all foggy and blurry. I don't know what to do."

"It's really simple Colin," Harry said. "I don't like having my picture taken and therefore I have taken measures to prevent it. I'm sorry, but I thought that I had already explained that to you. I don't just let anyone take pictures of me. Even candid ones will never turn out unless I know about it and want them taken." He turned to walk away.

"Wait Harry," Colin cried out in the hall. "Please I only want to..."

Harry whirled around and said, "I don't care what you _want_. No one is allowed to have pictures of me. This is a private matter to me and I refuse to make exceptions regarding it."

"Really Harry," Professor Lockhart said, coming out of his classroom and butting into the conversation. "You mustn't discourage a young artist in his endeavours to make a name for himself."

"Professor," Harry said. "Address me correctly or don't address me at all. I believe that we've already established the fact that you are wholly unconnected to me. As for the young artist, well he should learn early on that some subjects will _never_ cooperate with him."

Colin's face became sad at this, but his over eagerness was too irritating for Harry to put up with it much longer.

"It is best that he learns to respect such requests or else, if he were to eventually make a career out of it, he'll always have to pay fines due to the Law of Image Duplication. Good day to you both," he finished saying. He turned around and promptly left the area quickly in order to prevent Lockhart from pushing him into something he didn't want, like a joint picture of the two of them.

Draco had been hidden in an alcove during this and he was surprised that the Boy-Who-Lived didn't want his adoring fans to have pictures of him. "Well it looks like there is a challenge," he said to his friends that were waiting for him to go back to their common rooms. "We're going to need a plan and I think that I need to send a letter to my father about a specialized camera."

-----

Detentions were a common enough event in their school lives that it wasn't unheard of for Harry to get a few. However this one was excruciating because he was giving the unlovely task of helping Professor Lockhart autograph his fan mail. That man had been talking to him nonstop about fans and the responsibility of a hero.

"Now really my boy," the foppish man continued. "You really must pay attention to my words of advice. We heroes..."

'_Blah, blah, blah..._' Harry thought. '_What a git! Hero this, hero that, all you want is my help to make you even more popular. I'm not stupid you know._'

(...Kill...)

Harry looked up and around the room quickly.

Lockhart paused in his commentary. "Is there something wrong?"

(...Kill them...)

"Did you just hear that?" Harry asked, knowing full well that the man hadn't, but this was too good an opportunity to get away. "I thought I heard something."

(...Yesss, I will kill them... Kill them all...)

"Um," Professor Lockhart paused. "I didn't hear anything. Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm sorry Professor," Harry said. "Maybe it's getting a little late for me."

Lockhart looked at the clock. "Dear me, is that the time?" He asked. "Of course it is. Why don't you go and get some sleep young man. You may consider your detention complete."

"Thank you Professor," Harry said, gathering his things and leaving the room quickly to follow the deep hissing voice that demanded something be killed. '_I can't let it know that I understand what it is saying, but I do know that I have to follow it_.'

Harry followed that strange voice that he knew was hissing in Parseltongue. He chased in down a corridor, but it was no longer speaking out loud. He ran around a corner and down another hallway a few feet before he stepped into a puddle of water.

Looking down he watched the water flowing and pooling in the middle of the hall and it looked like it was coming from under a door further down. Curious about it, he walked over to it and that's when he noticed Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat.

She was hanging, suspended really, from a wall sconce by her tail. He was staring at her in fascinated horror when the caretaker saw him. "You killed her," he yelled. "You've killed my precious cat. Murderer…"

By this time there were other people in the Hallway, including the Headmaster. "Harry," he said.

"I just got here," Harry said. "I don't know what happened to Mrs. Norris."

"Liar," the caretaker said. "You did it, I know you did. Murderer."

"Now, now, Argus," Dumbledore said. "She's not dead. She's just petrified and Professor Sprout has just told me that she's received a fresh batch of mandrakes, so we will be able to make the potion that will cure your cat."

It was then that the Professor noticed something written on the wall next to the door, where the water in the hall was coming from.

_**THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED, ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE**__._

Professor Dumbledore didn't like want he was looking at. The last time this school had any mention of the Chamber of Secrets was during that awful time about fifty years ago. He needed to keep everyone in the dark about this for now.

"Everyone please return to your dorms, we'll handle this," he said to the students that had gathered in the hallway looking at the writing. The students were creeped out about this, but then again this was some delicious gossip for the friends in the dorms.

Harry left the area just as quick as the rest of them and had planned to tell Ron and Hermione about it, but when he got to the common room he remembered that he had promised to watch over Neville's Arca while the boy was inside it. Therefore he walked up to his dorm room, changed into his sleepwear and picked up a potions book to read.

He nodded to Neville, who was waiting for him to arrive. "Go on Nev," he said. "I'll lock your curtains for you."

Neville stepped into his Arca, as Harry was closing and locking the curtains around his bed. The boy was always nervous about going in there because he was afraid of never coming out. Harry volunteered to watch the time and that added to a level of comfort and confidence for the curly haired boy.

Meanwhile Harry was practicing his illusion spells by making his thick potions book look like something completely innocuous, like a Quidditch magazine or some muggle novel that he was interested in. '_Wouldn't do for someone to figure out that I'm learning something that they are not_,' he thought to himself.

-----

**TBC...**


	15. Chapter 14

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

* * *

**Year 2 – Part five of... ? **

The first Quidditch match of the year was an event all on its own. Malfoy took to the skies with finesse that caused many to compare the two Seekers while, they in the air. Harry was the favourite seeker because he had the record of being the youngest Seeker at this school. However Malfoy had his own following because it was evident that he could keep up with Harry's daredevil flying.

Still this game was exciting and definitely one for the books. A rogue bludger was hunting the Seekers. It had a nasty vicious program that the fans and audience didn't quite understand or notice at the time. However it was targeting only the Seekers and the main Seeker that it was targeting was Harry.

It was only when Harry finally managed to get the Snitch that everyone noticed how the bludger hadn't stopped its course and was continuing to attack a specific person. Luckily Hermione was quick with the incantation that blew it up to prevent further damage.

Harry's arm was broken during the game. It was after the game, when all was finished that he was pissed off once more at a certain Defence Against the Dark Arts (DADA) teacher who was meddling past his experience and knowledge.

The doofus wanted to mend Harry's arm and he was not a medi-wizard.

"Now, now my dear boy," Professor Lockhart said. "You needn't worry. I know just what to do in such cases."

Harry twisted out of the way and hopefully out of the range of the professor's wand. "No," he shouted. "You're not a medic, you don't nee…"

It was too late. The Professor said the incantation and then quite happily said, "There now. You see, there's no more pain."

Hagrid wasn't happy at all to see this Professor harm his ward. "No pain," he said horrified. "He doesn't 'ave any bones left in 'is arm."

Harry stood up, removed his cape to create a quick emergency sling for his arm. His guardian was quite right. He didn't have any bones in his arm. It was flopping around like some kind of dead rubber fish. That's why he created the sling in order to keep his arm close to his body and prevent it from getting damaged due its floppiness.

He turned around looking for his broom. It was only a short distance away, so called his broom to him. It was done wandlessly and he made sure that it tripped up the DADA professor in order to get to him.

Lockhart fell back to the ground onto his butt and when he tried to get up, Harry had whipped his broom over his shoulder in such a way that it whacked the man on his head making him fall back down. As soon as the Professor was successfully standing again, broom then was shoved in the man's face. It pricked him with the bristles, missing his eyes and then when Harry turned to walk back into the school, well it scratched one side of the man's face scoring it with multiple lines.

Harry was talking to his friends when he felt something against his broom and he whipped around quickly thinking that he was being attacked or stalked or something. That's when he noticed his Defence Professor on the ground again with a face full of red scratch marks.

"Sorry sir," Harry said, mock contritely. "I didn't see you there. I must just be a bit clumsy because my balance is off." He turned his attention back to his friends, ignoring the sputtering man on the ground and said, "I'm going to go to the Infirmary to see what can be done about this arm. I'll see you guys later… maybe."

"Okay Harry," Hermione said. "Do you think you'll be able to do your homework?"

"Right then," Ron replied to Harry's comment and then he said, "Hermione he just had the bones banished from his arm, do you think that he would be able to do his homework under those conditions? His bones will need to be re-grown and that is not a fun process. My brother Charlie had that happen to him once and he was a bear about it for whole time."

She huffed and walked away, saying, "Well I've got homework to do. I hope you get yours done in time, without asking to look at mine. See you later Harry."

Ron rolled his eyes at that and asked, "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Let's wait and see what Madam Pomfrey has to say about this," Harry said walking into the school and heading towards the infirmary. He wondered just what would be needed to re-grow his bones.

"Harry," Hagrid called out. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon for tea."

"Okay Hagrid," he replied. "See you then."

Once they arrived at the Infirmary, they were witness to Madam Pomfrey telling off Malfoy. "Get up and get out of here, Mr. Malfoy, you've been healed," she said. "There's no need for you to remain here moaning as though you were dying."

She turned to Harry and Ron who had walked in to witness this, took one look at Harry's arm and said, "I'm afraid that you'll have to stay overnight for observation. I can fix a broken arm easily enough, but in this case re-growing the bones will take time and it will be painful. You're in for a difficult night, I'm afraid."

"I understand," Harry said. "Ron could you get me the book by my bed and my stuff for washing."

"What about your pyjamas?" He asked.

"He'll be getting hospital regulation ones," Madam Pomfrey said. Harry nodded, knowing that that would happen.

"I'll be back, Harry," Ron said heading out.

"Now young man, pick a bed and get settled," she said. "Do you want to wait until you've changed before taking this?"

She held up a funky looking bottle that looked like it could have been sold in the Muggle World as a Halloween gimmick bottle. It had a skull for a top and the main bottle portion was ribbed like skeleton ribs with the words '_**Skele-Gro**_' across the middle.

'_That's a cool looking bottle_,' he thought. '_I certainly wouldn't make a mistake about the potion if the bottle was that obvious… I wonder if the bottles that potions are stored in make a difference on the life of the potion or if it will affect a potion if it's stored in the wrong bottle. Hmm, it's something that I'm going to have to ask Severus about later._'

"Yes please," he replied to her question and settled down to wait for Ron to come back with supplies to wash away the grit from the Quidditich match.

It was later that night when he was awoken by at a commotion near his bed. He looked around while putting on his glasses and noticed that there was a grubby house-elf nearby. "You again," he said startling the creature. "What do you think that you're doing here?"

"Dobby is sorry, Mister Harry Potter Sir," the house-elf said. "You must be leaving the school. Bad things will happen if you stay."

"Bad things will happen if I don't stay," Harry told the miserable little creature. "Why are you bothering me like this? I'm not the only one who can help you."

"The Great Harry Potter doesn't know hard it be for house-elves," Dobby said. "Dobby be remembering when," the elf leaned in and whispered, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came into power. House-elves be treated worse than dirt. Dobby still badly treated…"

"Dobby," Harry said. "If your Master is bad why don't you leave?"

"No house-elf ever leave a Master unless given _clothes_," Dobby said shuddering at the thought of the dreaded clothes. He also was shivering in hope of his bad master forgetting one day and perhaps absent-mindedly handing him something that could be deemed as clothes.

"Master would never give Dobby _clothes_. Master is careful to not even leave a sock lying around… oh… oh… Dobby is bad elf for telling… bad elf for telling… must punish Dobby… Dobby be punished…" At this the sad little creature began to bang his head on the small night table next to Harry's bed and to slam his fingers in the drawer.

Harry was horrified at this information and at the display of self-punishment. He didn't realize that his own house-elves were confined like Dobby, but he never once saw them punish themselves for a supposed wrong.

'_I certainly hope that they don't do that,_' he thought. '_I'm going to have to call one to the school and find out about them. I don't want to offend them, but I will not see or hear of them punishing themselves if they believe that I am offended by something_.'

He stopped Dobby from his antics and said, "Stop that… stop that right now. You've done nothing to deserve punishment."

"Dobby's Master does not know that Dobby is out," the house-elf said. "Dobby is bad elf for coming to help The Great Harry Potter."

"Look," the green-eyed boy said. "You've given me your warning, but you've got to stop trying to help me. You need to leave. Right now, I'll take everything you've told me under consideration, but…"

Then there was a clack sound as the door to the infirmary was opened and a flutter of several teachers, plus the caretaker came in carrying a body. "I found 'im in the 'all," Mr. Filch said. "He was just laying there all stiff and dead-like. Just like my Mrs. Norris."

The commotion was too much for the house-elf and he popped away quickly before it could be caught by the school's authorities. Harry lay back down on his bed and played possum in the hopes of finding out what has happened.

The person that was carried in was Colin Creevy and his first thought was that he was glad not have the flash of the little brat's camera going off in his face for the remainder of the year. He didn't like that he thought that and was immediately sorry that he felt like that.

'_It's not right to feel happy that an annoyance has been got rid of,_' he thought. '_Not like that anyway. At least the mandrakes are growing just fine and Severus will be able to brew the anti-petrifaction potion…Who am I kidding that's a fourth year potion and he's going to have me brew a batch of it or else write an essay on it or something. I hope that I can find out who the Heir of Slytherin is before they do any more damage to the school._'

"He's petrified Albus," Professor McGonagall said. "Just like your cat Mr. Filch. Oh, poor little Colin. How do you reckon he survived?"

"Mrs. Norris," the old caretaker said in voice full of upset. "You need to find out what is doing this. You've got to catch them and punish them."

The headmaster nodded and noticed that the boy had his camera in his hands. "This might have saved him," the old man said. "I wonder…" He took the camera from the dead looking hands of the boy and opened the back of it hoping that the film was salvageable. It wasn't. The film spilled out in a mass of dark ooze before evaporating in a puff of dark and light smoke.

Harry knew that the old man was aware that he was awake, but there was nothing that he could do about. His bones were still re-growing and if he had known what that stupid teacher was going to do, he certainly would have fought the idiot man off a lot sooner to prevent the loss of his bones. Still there was something to being around when things like this happened because it was better to know more about what was going on rather than less.

Professor Dumbledore looked in Harry's direction, his eyes losing his signature twinkle at the thoughts of perhaps having to close the school. It was not the first time that this has happened in his tenure as a teacher of this school, but this was the first time that he was responsible for _all_ the students.

He was having an internal debate about what his future course of action should be. Suddenly he was distracted from his thoughts by the other Professors around him and then he let himself be persuaded to let things be for the time being.

"We'll wait and see," he said calmly, as they walked out of the infirmary. "The mandrakes are growing well and we'll have to change the curfew hours for a while, but I believe that it will all work out in the end."

Harry rolled his eyes and knew that something was going on. He also knew that the Headmaster had an idea of what it could be. It was obvious that the old man wasn't 100 percent certain about how, why or more importantly who was petrifying people around the school. He removed his glasses and tried to rest for the remainder of the night. He had managed to fall asleep, but his arm was giving a twinge now and again that was unpredictable and not helping to rest.

He sat up and then decided to fold over some of the blankets onto the floor, while wrapping the rest around him to keep the heat in. He then settled into a meditative position that was more comfortable than lying down. It would allow him to relax more so than sleeping in the bed. It was the only way that he would get a full night's rest in so short a time.

-----

**Fuzzy Interlude in Autumn**

Severus was walking in the Forbidden Forrest with Hagrid by his side. They were having a casual conversation about the animals and plants in the forest. Hagrid was telling the potions professor about some of the animals that he had seen in the forest, as well as the panel that he was learning from, in his own Arca.

"I don' rightly know tha' the panel works for me, but at least I'm learnin' abou' the smaller animals, even if'n they're more plain an' less innerestin' than some o' the others," the large man told his companion.

Severus chuckled and said, "Hagrid the more interesting animals that you like are large and scary to an average child." He was laughing softly while he was talking. "I believe that is why your size is reduced for that particular panel. Harry was very insightful in providing you with that option. Do you not think so?"

Hagrid was sort of blushing sheepishly and chuckling too. "Yah, I do. It's just that it seems ta get pointed out often when I'm in other places, but at least the magics I'm learnin' are innerestin'."

"Do you mind telling me about them?"

"Not at all," Hagrid said, placing his hand on Severus' back to guide and protect him, as they made their way around a Carnivorous Tenticulus Aspen Tree. The tree never affected Hagrid, but its tentacles did try to reach out to the smaller prey in the form of the Potions Master. "Do you need some o' these vines today?"

Severus looked at the tree and said, "Maybe several of its shoots by the roots there, but no vines are needed at this time. I still have three full length ones properly preserved."

"All righ' then," Hagrid said. "I'll come back later with the tools needed. How many would ye be needin'?"

"Ten to twenty," the darker man said. "That will last me for a while and they are part of the potion that will remove the petrification from that young Gryffindor and Filch's cat."

They followed a set route that the Potions Master had planned in order to gather some of the ingredients and he had needed to map out the route first. This was to get the general direction down ahead of time, before sending Harry for his fifth year items for the boy's spring term. Harry was scheduled to take an O.W.L. test in Potions, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy during the coming summer.

Severus did notice that the larger man did tend to touch him more when it was only the two of them, but then again he privately did prefer it that way also. There was no way in this world that his budding relationship with this man would become public fodder. He still had the Dark Mark and at the moment he was under no delusion that Voldemort was completely eradicated from the Wizarding World.

"I unner'stan' Sev'rus," Hagrid said when he heard the other man sigh. "We'll be fine. We got Harry to look after. Ye'll be doin' what you need to do when the time comes, but ye be sure that ye return to the safest place possible. Ifn' things don' turn out the way we want'em to."

"Yes Hagrid," Severus said, feeling a glow from the inside at the thought that this man cared about what could possibly happen to him. He felt it too. The Dark Lord was out there… somewhere and he knew that Harry's life and his own would become more complicated because of it. He gave the bearded man a shy smile and patted him on the arm to let him know that he understood what he was implying.

They slowly made their way back to Hagrid's Hut while they gathered the leavings from various other animals within the Dark Forrest.

-----

**Duelling – Before the Yule Holidays**

The events in the school were unsettling and therefore the DADA Professor took it upon himself to set up a little duelling club to help ease the minds of the poor worried students. Ron and Hermione were interested in it. Many of the other students were looking forward to learning all about the proper forms and of course, actual being able to duel.

Ron dragged Harry to the session because the red-head thought that there was a chance to see something happen to the hated Slytherin students.

Harry allowed himself to be dragged along because he admitted to having some curiosity about the duelling session and processes that the Professor would teach. Although he was quite sure that the teacher was going to mess it up anyway.

Hermione only came along to see if there was going to be a showing of spells that they had yet to learn about in the school.

The rest of the Houses were scheduled for duelling sessions. The sessions were arranged by year and as luck would have it the second years were scheduled first. This was because of the way the timetables had been set up and of course the Headmaster wanted Harry to witness a true duel before any other student.

The students were told to go to the old Duelling Hall for their sessions. They were gathered around the raised duelling platform. Professor Lockhart was posturing again for the audience. He was in a fancy duelling outfit and was swishing up and down the platform posing, mainly for the girls.

"Don't worry children," he said. "These being somewhat dark times Professor Dumbledore has graciously allowed me to give everyone a chance to experience a real Wizard's Duel. The rules of engagement are as follows: Greet your opponent in the centre, give your opponent a wand salute, turn back to back, walk tenpaces away, face your opponent and begin at the bell. These are controlled, civilized duels people. No Dark spells are permitted during a formal duel. Now the Headmaster has allowed one of your Professors to come up here and conduct a demonstration with me."

The students looked around for the other Professor. Many of the Slytherins smirked when they saw that it was their own Head of House that would be participating. The other students watched with a wary eye, hoping that there would be no cause for the man to take points.

"Fear not children," Professor Lockhart said. "You'll get you Potions Master back in one piece after I'm through with him."

Professor Snape sneered at the man all the while stepping up onto the platform and going through the motions that the other man was voicing out loud for the students. He was waiting for his opportunity to put the fop in his place and it was too easy to even give him any pleasure.

He waited until Lockhart said, "Wands at the ready."

A not even a second passed after the bell rung to begin the duel and Severus called out, "_**Expelliarmus**_."

The DADA Professor was sent flying backwards and his wand was pulled out of his hand. One of the older students, a Prefect, on referee duty called out, "Match Point to Professor Snape. Opponent successfully disarmed. Duel concluded."

Everyone ignored Professor Lockhart's comment about how he '_meant to do that_' and looked on to what the other professor was going to do. "If I may make a suggestion," Snape told the other man as he handed him his wand. "Perhaps the students should be practicing duels rather than us merely demonstrating how to duel."

"Yes well," the other man hemmed and hawed for a moment. "An excellent idea sir," he said looking over the students to choose the next opponents. He said, "Weasley, Potter up you go."

"Perhaps not," the Potions Master said stopping the boys from even getting a toe onto the platform. "Mr. Weasley's wand is damaged and not completely reliable at this point in time. Might I suggest another student, perhaps someone from my own House, Mr. Malfoy, get up here."

He didn't let the other man say another word and gestured for the blond boy to get up on the duelling platform. The two boys looked at one another and Harry was wondering just what he would need to do in order to keep back his skills to match that of the other boy.

"Face one another," Professor Lockhart coached.

Malfoy sneered at the Boy-Who-Live, initiating the wand salute and saying, "_**Scared Potter**_".

"_**You wish**_," Harry said finishing the wand salute.

"Turn and walk ten paces," the DADA Professor said. "Wait for the bell…"

However since one of the duellists was a Slytherin he didn't wait for the bell and he fired off his first spell before the bell finished ringing. Harry was ready for it and stepped to one side, letting the spell go past him. He called out his own spell, "_**Rictusempra**_", which Malfoy to flip over and land down hard on his backside from the force of the spell even though it was just a tickling charm.

It was kind of humiliating, but that just pissed him off even more. He stood back up with the aid of his Head of House. He positioned himself to cast another spell. It was one that he was sure was going to cause panic. His wand movements were precise, as he called out, "_**Serpensortia**_."

A cobra came out from the end of his wand. Harry immediately recognized a similar species, but still shouted out, "NOBODY MOVE, NOBODY MAKE A SOUND. EVERYONE KEEP ABSOLUTELY STILL."

He moved forward and began to hiss quickly at the snake, (…Easy there. You don't want to hurt the students. You do want to live don't you…)

However Professor Lockhart thinking that he knew best cast a spell that just agitated it some more.

(…Called forth into this cold place...) The snake hissed in anger and pain. (…Attacked by stinging fire. Someone has to pay, they will pay…)

Harry stepped forward more quickly to draw the snake's attention. (…You don't want to do that. You must decide quickly whether you want to live or die because there are a couple of nesters here that will kill you if you harm these nestlings. I can get you out of here and I can send you someplace safe…)

The cobra started to slither towards Harry. (…Your word speaker, you promise…)

(…Yes…) Harry said, pulling out the _Snake-Wrangling Sack_. (…In here, you will be safe. It will put you to sleep for a bit and then next time I pull you out we will discuss where you would like to go. Please decide quickly…)

Panic or fear makes people do stupid things. Justin Finch-Fletchley gasped and stepped backwards in his fear despite Harry's warning to have nobody move. It drew the snake's attention and it was rising up to aim, but Harry had to stop it.

(…Don't hurt the nestling or I will be unable to help you…)

The snake turned to Harry and hissed. (…The fear smells delicious, sweet and tart, like salt in the air around a fig tree…) It said flicking its tongue out to taste it. (…Are you sure?…)

(…You attack, I _can't_ help you…) Harry hissed. (…The biggers will kill you for harming a nestling even if the nestling was being stupid and ignoring my advice…)

(…Nestlings do that, but you seem to be smarter than most nestling, plus you speak. Very well then, hold that open a bit more…) The cobra agreed quickly and made up its mind. It slithered into the sack before Professor Snape could banish it with a spell. He was close, but Harry was faster. The boy tied the sack and placed it back in his pocket.

Justin looked up in his shock, while everyone around was whispering. He said, "What do you think you are playing at?"

Harry cocked his head to one side, looked the boy in the eye and said, "Are you deaf or are you stupid? I _told_ you and everyone else in this room not to move and what do you do? You moved, causing the snake's attention to be diverted to you. Are you an IDIOT or WHAT?"

"Now see here," Justin said. "You have no right…"

"That was a Black Banded Egyptian _Spitting _Cobra (i), you fool," Harry said putting the emphasis on the word, spitting. "I've studied snakes and that particular species could have literally spit venom in your face. It could have irreparably damaged your eyes or worse killed you before anyone could have done anything to help you. I told everyone in the room not to move and I'm quite sure that I was speaking the Queen's English _before_ I started speaking directly to the snake."

He stepped down from the platform and noticed that all of the students were trying to keep a set distance away from him. '_Well that's new_,' he thought. '_They're acting like they're afraid of me. Oh, well at least I won't have to put up with anyone wanting to fawn over a celebrity for a while._'

He was about to leave the room when Professor Snape called out to him, even though Ron and Hermione were tugging on his arms to get him away from everyone. "Mr. Potter," he had to ask in sneering tone. "What are you planning to do with that snake?"

"I was planning to go to Hagrid to have him help me gather the spit, sir," Harry said. "I was also going to have him show me how to milk the venom from the snake's fangs as well. It's a difficult species to find outside of Egypt and these ingredients would be valuable in potions. It's best to gather them before I let it go home."

"Very commendable," Professor Snape said. He looked around at the confusion in the room and noticed that the DADA Professor was just standing there at a loss for words. "It seems as though our duelling session is at an end. Everyone return to your Houses. Potter, you will follow me. We'll get the jars necessary to contain the spit. _I'll_ show you how to extract the venom. There is no need to step out in the inclement weather and bother Hagrid for that."

"Harry," Ron hissed, not liking the looks coming from the other students and not wanting Harry to be taken away by the Head of Slytherin House. "We need to go now. Don't go with him," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry sir," Hermione said. "Harry needs to return to his House to do his homework. We've delayed it long enough. Come on Harry."

Harry twisted away from the two Gryffindors and said with a confused frown, "Unhand me. I don't have to go anywhere with the two of you and I don't know where you're getting your information about my homework, Hermione, but I'll thank you to butt out of my business." He succeeded in pulling away from their grasping hands and said, "I'll speak to the two of you later."

He walked towards the waiting Potions Master and quickly followed the man out of the Duelling Hall. The room was bursting with whispers about the new skill that the Boy-Who-Lived had just displayed.

Ron and Hermione were listening to the worst of it. They were also embarrassed that Harry hadn't taken their advice to leave the Hall before this all happened. They began to walk to their common room with the other Gryffindors, just as the other Houses began to leave.

Meanwhile Harry and Professor Snape were headed down to the potions classroom. "That wasn't very wise Mr. Potter."

"What wasn't wise, sir," Harry asked.

"Ignoring your friends' request to leave quickly," the man said. "Displaying such a talent in the Duelling Hall in front of all the other students, what were you thinking? Mouthing off to a student in this school, especially a muggle-born student like that Hufflepuff."

"I have nothing to hide, sir," Harry said. "There is nothing wrong with talking to snakes, as long as the snakes can remain calm. This one is wilder than any other I've met, but that's partially due to the spell Professor Lockhart cast on it. He said it was like '_stinging fire_', the poor thing."

Professor Snape paused for a moment and the continued heading towards his regular classroom. "How long have you had this particular skill?"

"All my life," Harry said. "Why do you ask?"

They arrived in the classroom. They walked towards the lab section of the class. Snape pulled out several jars. "This one will hold the venom that the snake wants to spit. This one will be used for milking the venom from its fangs."

They put on special thick gloves and Snape watched Harry handle the snake. "It's in stasis for the moment, but it's still agitated and ready to spit," the second year Gryffindor explained. He positioned the head of the snake and used a spell to pry the snake's mouth open around the jar that will accept the spraying spit. The jar had a cloth over the opening. It was a special cloth that would allow the spit to only go one way and not splash back out. "Let me coax the snake, sir."

(...Wake up...) He hissed to the cobra. (...Please wake up, you're attached to a jar that will collect your spit, feel free to attack the jar in front of you...) The cobra rose from its stasis state in a bit of a panic and it attacked the jar as requested. Good thing that Harry was wearing the special gloves because of the way the venom was spat it splashed a bit on the surface area of the table too. (...Easy there, are you awake now?...)

(...Yes...) The snake replied. (...I didn't harm anyone, did I?...)

(...No...) Harry said. (...We were prepared for your reaction and collected the venom safely. My Professor would like to know if he can milk the venom from your fangs. He is a Potions Master...)

(...Potions?...)

(...Potions are mainly curative liquids made from various things, like your venom...) Harry explained as simply as he could. He hoped that the snake understood what he meant by curative.

(...I understand. Of course he may have the venom from my fangs...) The cobra replied. (...It doesn't take that long for the venom to come back anyway...)

(...Thank you...) Harry said. He turned to his Professor and said, "He agrees to let you have the venom from his fangs."

Professor Snape had been watching the exchange for a while now and he asked his student, wondering, "Where does he want to go after this?"

"I'll ask," Harry replied. (...Do you wish to go home?...)

(...I don't have one...) The snake replied. (...You know I don't recall hatching or hunting ever. How is that possible?...)

"He doesn't remember hatching or hunting," Harry told his teacher. "Is that something to do with the spell that Malfoy cast?"

Professor Snape had to pause and think about that one. "He used Serpensortia, which means that technically he is conjuring a snake and not calling forth one. It must be supposed that this snake is not entirely alive by natural means and therefore as a magically created entity that would have no memories of actually living."

Harry related this information to the snake who was noticeably upset because it felt that it was alive and should have the right to continue living. (...I want to live, but because I don't have any memory I don't know where to live...)

(...Easy there...) Harry said calming it down. (...We'll figure something out. A conjuration is based on a particular idea, image or existing knowledge. You look like a Black Banded Egyptian Cobra, but you also have the Spitting ability of another Egyptian cobra species and that is what I called you. There are a couple of ways to figure out your nature, but be easy we'll find you a good home of your choice...)

The cobra coiled around Harry's arm and stayed there for the time being. (... Ask your teacher...)

"Sir," Harry said. "Are there tests that you can conduct in order to find out the actual kind of snake that he is or maybe you could ask Malfoy what snake he was thinking about, when he did the conjuration?"

"That is a good idea," Severus said. "Perhaps in the meantime he would like to room with me or Hagrid until we can find a proper place for him."

The snake agreed to stay in the dungeons with the Potions Master for the time being. It even agreed to being milked on a weekly basis. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long to convince his young Slytherin to hand over the specific snake information that the boy had in his mind during the duel.

"Now young man," his Professor began, as tea was served in his secure private office. "How long have you been able to speak to snakes?"

"All my life," Harry said. "Surely you've seen Tertia, she's my familiar and is often free to roam around the house, haven't you?"

"I have seen a Coral Runespoor around your home, but I hesitated to mention it because I thought she was a gift from Hagrid," Severus confirmed, he called a house-elf to bring them some tea. "You've always been able to speak to her?"

"Yep," Harry said. "I did get her as a gift."

Severus nodded and said, "From Hagrid."

"No," Harry said. "I got her from my goblin estate manager and a friend of his."

The Professor was surprised at that, but the boy then explained what had happened and how he had received a packet of books from them, plus his little Tertia. "They claimed that it was a gift to me because I entrusted them with the secret of being a Parseltongue," he said. "They were happy to look for a familiar and they received the authorization from Hagrid to seek something one for me. I don't know that I'd ever want to go through the process that you went through for yours."

The Potions Professor agreed that it was not everyone that would be willing to go through _that_ process, but he was very happy with his shadow phoenix. "It's true that not everyone would have the patience for such a venture," Severus told the Boy-Who-Lived. "However I'm content with my Nerosku (ii) and I wouldn't trade him for all the familiars in the world."

"Luckily the only thing that you needed to do was record him as a magical familiar with the goblins of Gringotts," Harry said. "All familiars are technically seen as possessions so that they can bypass that magical creature regulation. The ministry should never have instituted that law because it's so stupid. Familiars are linked the magic of a being and are not feral creatures or objects to be owned."

"That certainly is true, but I believe the law came about when the witch or wizard passed away," Severus tried to explain. "There are records of recorded familiars that went feral and attacked any new _owner_, which is why that law came into effect."

Harry snorted and said, "That's because a familiar is supposed to choose the wizard not the other way around. Yours will likely seek out freedom when you pass away, but one like mine may have to be passed on to a new owner, unless she passes away before I do."

Severus sipped his tea and listened to the boy rant a bit and then Harry went off onto another tangent of thought as this subject seemed to link a few others. The Potions Professor was very tolerant of this because sometimes the boy had ideas pop up on occasion that helped him re-focus his research into possibly other areas or tangents.

This time however it was Harry who finished his rant without prompting. He asked his Professor, "You're still coming for the Yule Holidays this year, aren't you?"

"Yes," Severus told him. "It will be like the last year. I will arrive on the twenty-fifth in the afternoon after have done my mandatory obligation to my godson's family. I will have to leave on the thirtieth this year because of the mandrakes and a few other potions that I need to prepare for the infirmary."

Harry nodded and said, "I'm looking forward to it. We'll wait for you before we open our presents. Oh, did you want to go shopping again on the twenty-sixth?"

"Yes, actually," Severus said. "We'll plan it well, but could you look into the locations of the stores prior to leaving this time. I don't really want to spend that whole day shopping, so I've made a list of places that I'm interested in visiting."

He handed the list and Harry looked it over briefly, nodding at the contents. He tucked it away safely and said, "We'll be waiting for you."

-----

It was only a day later, after the revelation of Harry's new gift, that the body of Justin Finch-Fletchley and the floating form of Nearly Headless Nick was found. Every student that had been in the Duelling Hall had a chance to tell their own version of the story.

Many refused to acknowledge the fact that Harry had warned them not to move. The stories got wilder and wilder. Soon it was circulated that Harry had set up the attack and that he was actually the Heir to Slytherin due to his ability alone.

During this time Dumbledore was keeping a watchful eye out for the Boy-Who-Lived and wondered whether he should summon the youth to discuss this situation. '_Perhaps in the new year when things have settled down for a bit_,' he thought. '_It won't do to call for him just before the Yule Holidays, as Minerva has mentioned that Harry will not be staying behind this year either._'

-----

Harry was excited to be leaving the school and its gloomy atmosphere for a while. Everyone staring at him and thinking that he was the one to attack Finch-Fletchley and he complained about it to Ron and Hermione, "It's stupid to think that I would willingly do anything like that."

"Well," Hermione began. "You haven't been very nice since the Duelling Hall incident."

"What were they to think?" Ron asked. "You spoke Parseltongue and it sounded like you were egging the snake to attack."

"You both know that I spoke in English telling everyone not to move," Harry said. "It doesn't matter if Finch-Fletchley was so afraid that he let his fear rule him. He moved and drew the snake's attention to him. If I was really egging the snake on, then I wouldn't have made a sound about any of it."

"Really Harry," Hermione said. "You're the Boy-Who-Lived. How do you think it looks when you do something that only _You-Know-Who_ can do."

"You know what Hermione," Harry said. "I _don't_ know who you're talking about. I can only assume that you mean Voldemort and not Mr. Filch or Malfoy over there. However I'm not going to spend the rest of my life assuming anything about who're you're referring to, so let's be clear about this. The name of the Git that has been terrorizing the Wizarding World is Voldemort, say his name or don't talk to me about him at all."

The poor girl felt affronted, but in the end she took her own advice about the fear of a name increasing the fear itself. She saw that Harry was serious about this and it did make sense. She could be referring to anyone. Even Ron got a strange look in his eye when Harry mentioned not knowing who he was talking about. It was pretty silly to continue talking about knowing someone when the '_someone_' they were referring to could be completely different.

"Very well," Hermione said. "But you should still be careful about the magical gifts that you chose to display."

"I wasn't displaying anything," Harry said. "I spoke to the snake in order to prevent anyone from coming to harm. If I was someone into displaying my own abilities, you'd both have known that I could speak to snakes long before that _Duelling Hall Incident_, as you call it. Now if you'll both excuse me, I'm going to go pack for the holidays."

The other two realized that Harry was right. If he had wanted them to know about him being able to speak to snakes, then he would have told them about it. As it was, it was a complete surprise to them that he never felt that he _had_ to tell them about this skill. This caused them to wonder what else he could be hiding from them.

-----

**TBC...**

(...i...) Black Banded Egyptian Spitting Cobra – I made it up from a combination of an Egyptian Spitting Cobra and the Black Banded Cobra. The black banded cobra was cuter, but the spitting factor was more interesting for a duel of magic.

_Black Banded Cobra – see my profile for a photo (found on some website that I can no longer remember where, but there is a copyright on this photo, so obviously it's not mine.)_

"_Isn't he cute?"_

(...ii...) Nerosku – mix of Italian and Swedish for the name of Severus' shadow phoenix. (used worldlingo dot com for translation) Nero is "Black" in Italian. Skugga is "Shadow" in Swedish, not truly original for the name, but I liked the mix. Nerosku sounds like it came from another language all on its own.

**Author's Note:** I've hit a minor snag on at this point and have been trying at different times to get the Holiday season done. I've already got a pretty good idea on how to end this story, I'm just stuck in the middle so to speak. This will take some time, but this was posted for those that wished to see a bit more. At least it's not a cliff hanger!


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